6 Feet Under
by CaitlinXcowz
Summary: Kakuzu and Hidan find a coffin that is made out of a rare metal. What will happen when the body inside of the coffin is still alive? Rated for Hidan's language. AkatsukiXOC BEING REWRITTEN.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters, but I do own my OC; Makita Amaterasu. Heh… I own someone. XD. **

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I had no idea how long I was under ground for, but it was a long time. I was sure of it. It was cramped and hard to breathe down here. It was _veeeeeeeeeeery_ uncomfortable. I was also surprised that I was still alive. I mean, being six feet under for, what? How long had I actually been down here? I was guessing ten plus years, with no oxygen, food, water, or any entertainment in any way, shape, or form.

I was bored. Bored as hell. I think the boredom is the worst possible thing. I mean, sure, food, water, and oxygen keep you alive…if you're completely human… but if you're me, boredom kills. It hurts too… Luckily, I like sleeping.

When I was above ground, people always told me I slept like the dead (HA! Oh, the irony…). Since I've been down here, I found a way to combat my boredom. I sleep. And I sleep. And I sleep some more, but even sleeping gets boring when you're not tired. My dreams aren't very interesting… nothing worth mentioning here. I want to get the fuck out of here. It's cramped, stuffy, boring, and I get really lonely.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have tried to escape. Again and again I've tried, but every time I tried to get out I failed. I've tried multiple times! The problem is, is that six feet of dirt is really heavy. So is this damn coffin lid. You're probably wondering 'why didn't you just use some jutsu or use your chakra to punch your way out of here?' Well, I would, damn you. If had any chakra left.

When they buried me, the made sure the coffin was bound with some fucking chakra sucking metal. It made me unable to use chakra. It sucked it all up, just like the title of the fucking metal suggests. My lovely 'home' is also made of this…metal shit… that makes me unable to shape shift. I think the outside is coated in gold too, or some other type of hard metal. Possibly steel. I think the people who buried me made my coffin so heavy to make sure no one can or will open up my casket anyways. It was stupid.

My village, the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters, is a village of, right; you guessed it, shape shifters. The title sort of gives it away. I personally think that they could have been a little more creative when they were coming up with the name of the village, but whatever. It's not like I care anymore. Us shape shifters can shape shift into anything. Other people, objects, animals, and random types of food, without using a lot of our chakra, and it cannot be broken with a release jutsu, or whatever the hell it's called.

You are also probably wondering why I am down here. Why I was buried alive for the rest of eternity. I would love to tell you. I really would, but I can't, because I have no idea why I was put down here anyway. It sucks. I was one of the mot promising ninjas in the village, but now, I'm sort of a pile of skin, bones, and hair. I'm weak. I know it. I haven't used any muscles in such a long time. My muscles are practically non-existent. I wasn't even sure if I got out of here, if I'd be able to stand, or use my body. That worried me.

I think one of the reasons I was put down here was because I don't agree with the law here in the Hidden Village Of The Shape Shifters. It says if you have not killed three hundred thirty-three people by the time you are nine with your shape shifting powers, you would be exiled from the village or killed. You're also never allowed to leave the village. No association with other villages, no stepping a foot out of the village, no helping others from other villages, no telling where our village is, no doing anything with other villages. I rebelled against that. Now I am down here. At least…I think that's why I am down here… I don't really remember.

I think my mind sort of blocked the memories and stored them in my subconscious. My memory is a blur of shapes, colours, people, and events. Nothing makes complete sense. I remember some things, but I never know what actually happened. Some people in my memories I recognize, but I don't know why I know them or who they are. There are names in my memory, but I don't know what the person looks like. It confuses me.

Luckily for me, I don't have to breathe…that often. I only take a shallow breath every few day. It makes things so much easier! Also, one of the reasons I was not dead…yet…is because we shape shifting creatures have a longer life span than a normal human. It's much longer. Much, much, much, MUCH longer. I laugh in the face of all humans! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Then I started coughing. I should not laugh like that. It uses a lot of oxygen. I bet there isn't a lot of oxygen left that makes me panic. I may have a shitty life, being stuck in a coffin, but I don't want to die. I like life and the possible idea that I may be able to, one day, got out of this coffin and live again. Damn. Even though I did not need to breathe as much as a human I still need some oxygen.

And no, before you ask, or even think it, I am not crazy. Who can blame me? When you get bored and you've been alone as long as I have, things happen. The burrowing squirrel outside my coffin said that I was crazy last time he heard me laughing, but, hey, that's his opinion. For all the damn squirrel knows, he could have been talking to an animated corpse. I hate squirrels.

Since I can change into animals, I can also communicate with them telepathically. Cool, huh? Anyways, when you've been stuck in a coffin that's been buried under the ground for how many years, you usually try to find ways to keep yourself from going into complete insanity. I at least wished they threw a really good book and a light in here with me. Then I wouldn't have to resort to talking to myself, or talking to the animals outside of my coffin.

I wonder if I'll ever get out of here and start living again.

_Six feet above the surface…_

"Hurry up, Hidan! We need to find the coffin! Do you know how much money I can make off of it?" A tall man wearing a mask over the lower part of his face and a wearing black cloak with red clouds, said impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. Why the fuck is it so fucking important? Damn it! I could be fucking praying to Jashin-sama right now instead of being on this retarded 'mission' of yours!" A man with silver hair and lavender eyes said. The man was also wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. He had a large three bladed scythe strapped onto his back.

"Shut up, Hidan. Now, look for the grave that says 'Makita Amaterasu'. She was buried about…one hundred and fifty years ago? I don't know." The man known as Kakuzu said in annoyance.

Hidan just grumbled under his breath.

'_This is so fucking stupid. Kakuzu is always so fucking concerned about his fucking 'money'. I'm sure it is the only fucking thing running through his fucking head. This is so fucking annoying. I could be doing something fucking important…well…more important than this…why the fuck did Kakuzu even WANT me to fucking come anyway?'_ Hidan thought angrily.

"I found it! Hidan! Pass me the shovel and grab one yourself! I'm going to get a HUGE amount of cash for this casket!" Kakuzu said in an excited voice.

"Hn. Who the fuck cares?" was Hidan's rude reply. _'THAT'S why he fucking wanted me to come. To be his little fucking bitch and fucking help him dig up this piece of shit.' _Hidan though angrily.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes and ignored his partner. Why did he always have to complain so much? Hidan was like a toddler trapped in an adult's body.

"Just grab a shovel and dig." Kakuzu said.

Hidan huffed angrily and grabbed one of the two shovels. The pair plunged their shovels into the earth and quickly scooped up the dirt and put it into a pile about two feet away from the grave. Hidan and Kakuzu were digging quickly, not wanting to get caught. If they were caught, it would cause an unnecessary and uncalled for scene. The village hidden by the shape sifters was usually heavily guarded, but when the pair came here, there were no guards, people, ninjas, or life of any form. The village was also very difficult to find. Hidan and Kakuzu were also surprised, but pleased, that they found the village this easily. They did not need to battle and ninjas at the moment.

"Hey, Kakuzu, what the fuck are we going to do with the fucking dead body inside?" Hidan asked with a grunt as he lifted a large pile of dirt and rocks from the grave and dumped it into a slowly growing pile near the edge of the grave.

"Sell the bones to a collector." Came Kakuzu's serious reply.

"Who the fuck would want to buy fucking _bones_? They would have to have a fucking screw loose in the fucking skull." Hidan asked/stated.

The two were still digging. Hidan and Kakuzu were had more that three quarters of the grave dug up already and the excess dirt was tossed to the side. They would reach the coffin in a few moments. Then all two 'grave robbers' had to do was dig up the coffin and take it to some man or women who would buy it. There was obviously some crazy, messed up person who would buy a coffin… or maybe they would buy it for the gold or 'rare metal' that it was made of.

'Clunk' the noise echoed around Hidan and Kakuzu as their shovels hit the coffin. Hidan and Kakuzu looked at each other. They had reached the coffin. Now all they had to do was unearth it. Kakuzu smiled greedily.

_Six Feet Below The Surface…_

_Inside the coffin…_

'_What was that?"_ I thought as I heard a 'clunk' hit the top of my coffin. The mysterious noise sounded a lot like a shovel hitting my coffin. The noise echoed through out.

Had someone come to take me out? What was going on? Why were they coming to take me out _now_? This was crazy! I could not believe it! I might actually get out of here!

'_YES!!' _I thought inwardly. I was going to get out of my fucking coffin, which over the years had become my own, personal hell.

I could hear voices on the outside of my coffin arguing. I could tell from the arguing and the tone of voice that I could hear that the two people outside my coffin, digging me up, did not like each other much. It was worse than an old married couple that wanted to get a divorce. Heh…they sounded like my grandparents…and my parents… the thought made me giggle a little. My family and I never got along at all, but that's a different story.

How would I explain to the people who get me out of here how I was still alive? I was really unsure if I was even still able to speak. I had just communicated with the animals telepathically and I talked to myself in my head. Oh dear. Unless the people were getting me out because they knew I was alive.

Suddenly, I felt like I was being flung upwards. My head hit the top of my coffin and I grunted in pain. That hurt like a bitch. Then I started moving. I was going somewhere. Why were they not letting me out of here? What was going on? I was starting to panic. Even though I had not been let out of my coffin, I knew I did not want to go back into the god-forsaken ground. I was terrified about that. I wanted to get out of here.

Then a horrid thought struck me. What if I was going to a new gravesite? Where would it be? In a place more hidden? Where no one would find me? Or were they throwing my coffin in a lake to drown me and make sure I was dead? Were they going to take my coffin and me a million miles high, in the air, and drop my coffin with me in it? Making sure that I, a true shape shifter, was really and truly, completely and utterly dead?

What the _hell_ was going on? What was going to happen to me? Where was I going? WHY WAS I NOT BEING LET OUT OF HERE!?

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**This is a fairly short chapter. I apologize. It will be longer next time! I promise! Please R&R! Also, do you have an idea for an Akatsuki pairing...my OCX…?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well… it's been a while… a long while… sorry! Work, school, homework, acting, and a whole bunch of other issues came up and I found no time to write! Don't worry though! Summer's here and I have time (when I'm not working) to write! I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THIS STORY! YAY! Anyways, I changed the name of my OC to Makita Amadatsu. I like it better (just to clear it up, its first name, and then last name. Sorry for any confusion! OH! And a side note, thank you to Scrippets, who pointed out some spelling and grammar mistakes. Thank you very much!) ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed, favourited, and alerted this story. Cyber hugs for you all! Enjoy!**

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I have no idea how long my 'captors' we walking for, but I was beginning to become slightly ill from all of the movement. Who can really blame me? I haven't moved in over, what? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Decades? Centuries? I've been in the fucking coffin for at least a few years. I know that. Even if it is not exactly 'me' moving, the motion was enough to make me sick to my stomach. My heart was beating rapidly, in a flurry of panic. I tasted fear in the back of my mouth. A taste I haven't tasted since I woke up six feet under the ground in a coffin.

The worst part about being carried around like this was not the motion sickness. Not even the fear I felt. It was the arguing. Holy fuck, these two people don't know how to shut up and stop fighting. Seriously. I thought my older sisters and I fought a lot. We have nothing on the two assholes arguing.

First, it began with my two 'captors' arguing about where they would take the coffin and how long it would take. Next, the began arguing about a bounty on of the captures, Kakuzu, I think his name was, wanted to go after. Then they began fighting about money and if the other person, Hidan, maybe, I think that was what his name is, should get a share of the profits they make off my bones and coffin. Obviously, they thought I was dead if they were going to sell my bones.

Shit.

Oh well, they'd have to open up the coffin to get my bones and then they will see that I'm still alive. Well, now they stared a heated debate about a 'religion' that one of them follows. I can't exactly distinguish the two voices that well. I really wish that they'd just shut the hell up and give me some peace and quiet.

"Fuck, Kakuzu. This casket is fucking heavy! How much did the fucking person inside here fucking weigh?!" I heard the man I assumed was Hidan asking angrily.

I snorted indignantly. I was NOT heavy. It was the damn coffin that weighed so much. I was beginning to get angry. Stupid laws, stupid Shape Shifters, stupid coffin, stupid village, stupid family, stupid me. AGH! Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Fuck! If only I kept my mouth shut and listened to the rules. If only I didn't rebel against my authority figures and disagree with the fucking laws that were set in place. Maybe then I wouldn't be in this damn mess.

I'm such an idiot. I'm so incredibly stupid! I have always been told that I was a headstrong, overly opinionated, bitch, but I never thought that I would be punished so harshly. At least they think I'm dead. When (and if) I get out of here, there will be hell to pay. I can guarantee it.

For now, sadly, I am trapped here. Stuck in a coffin. I guess this will make an interesting story to tell my children and grandchildren. Not that I'm ever going to have any. It's just a thought. A new idea started to creep its way into my head and spread like wild fire. I gulped.

What if they decided not to sell my bones? What is they just decided to keep my coffin? What if they didn't open the coffin lid? What if they decided to melt the coffin, just to get the gold or special 'chakra sucking metal'? What if I was never let out of here? What if I was burnt or melted alive? What if I died? That would be horrible. I wanted to get out of my coffin, really badly. Well... on the bright side... at least I wasn't claustrophobic...

I wanted a life. I wanted to live. I wanted to experience what I had lost. Life is a beautiful thing. When I wasn't buried underground, I loved living. I wanted to become strong, successful, have a life, explore, discover. What was so wrong with that? I must have done something really bad in a past life to deserve this kind of punishment. Damn karma. She's a bitch.

I got up the courage to knock on the inside of my coffin lid, to make sure that the two people, who are planning to do hell knows what with my coffin (selling it is what I heard, but who knows? People can change their minds in a blink of an eye.) know I was in here. To make my captors know that I, a living being, was still inside here.

I knocked a little harder on the walls of my coffin, praying to whatever god or higher power that was out there, to let the two people who were carrying my coffin, open up the lid, let me out, and let me go on my merry way. Then maybe I could pick up the shattered, broken, and ripped apart pieces of my life and try and start over.

I was scared.

_Outside the coffin…_

"Hey, Kakuzu?" Hidan asked, seemingly listening to nothing in particular, at least, nothing Kakuzu could hear.

"What?" Kakuzu snapped. Kakuzu was annoyed with his stupid partner's whining.

"Do you fucking hear that?" Hidan asked.

"Hear what?" Kakuzu asked, grinding his teeth together.

"_That!_" Hidan said in an exasperated voice.

"No." Kakuzu said.

"Fuck! How can you not fucking hear it? Are you going fucking deaf?"

"No. I'm not deaf just keep walk-" Kakuzu was stopped short, because the person holding the other end of the coffin had stopped dead in his tracks. Kakuzu glared darkly at his partner. This 'game' Hidan was playing was getting really tiring and Kakuzu was beginning to get very angry.

"Just fucking listen!" Hidan hissed at Kakuzu. Hidan was beginning to get annoyed at his dumb ass partner's 'stupid' act.

Both men had stopped and were now listening intently, listening for any signs of life or any sound that was out of place. Surprisingly, Kakuzu heard a light tapping sound that seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"Yeah. I hear it." Kakuzu sighed, annoyed that his partner had been right.

"Fucking told you so." Hidan said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep up your guard. I don't want to get into a fight… I want to hurry and sell this coffin already. It's heavy, so it should be worth a lot of money." Kakuzu said, muttering the last part to himself.

"Are we almost there yet?" Hidan asked impatiently.

"No. I'm taking the long way. We don't need to run into any other who might want this coffin. It's mine, for now, until I get the money from it. This coffin is so damn precious; I'm not taking any chances with it. At all." Kakuzu told Hidan.

Hidan grumbled obscenities under his breath. In Hidan's opinion, Kakuzu was a complete fucktard. The duo had begun walking again, slightly faster than they were before, but little did they know, they were being watched.

_Inside the coffin…_

I was annoyed. I'm pretty sure that the two stupid humans outside my coffin heard me… so why weren't they letting me out of here? It's not like I'd actually be a threat to them with the condition I'm in. I've been underground, six feet under, for a long time. It's not like I could do anything to hurt the grave robbers. I mean, it might be difficult to get the coffin open, but I am almost completely sure that my captors were ninjas. You'd have to be pretty skilled to get into the Village of Shape Shifters and get out alive. Don't ninjas have chakra? Couldn't they open up my coffin? I don't know.

For now, I'm just going to assume they're completely stupid and utter idiots, even if they did get in and out of my old village.

_Outside the coffin…_

"This is fucking heavy…" Hidan complained for what seemed to be the millionth time to Kakuzu.

"Just shut up already! I'm sick of your bitching and complaining!" Kakuzu growled.

"Then maybe we should have taken the fucking shorter route! You're a fucking stupid fucker." Hidan snapped back angrily.

"Shut the fuck up, before I sew your mouth shut." Kakuzu threatened.

Hidan just snorted and rolled his eyes in response. While they were arguing, they didn't notice the multiple kunai cutting through the air towards them.

"Fuck! Jump!" Hidan yelled, while throwing his end of the coffin and jumping out of the path of the kunai.

Kakuzu did the same, dropping the coffin and jumping out of the way. The kunai hit the coffin, but did little to no damage to the 'precious item'. Kakuzu and Hidan were hiding in the trees, waiting to see who their attackers were.

"Come out, Akatsuki. We know you're there." A Leaf Village ninja said, as four of them stepped put from the trees.

Two of the ninjas were jounins and the other two ninjas were chunins, but possibly jounins. Hidan couldn't tell. Hidan smirked. Leaf ninja. And they weren't even of ANBU rank. This was going to be easy. It should take only a few minuets to kill all four of the stupid fuckers that dared to challenge Akatsuki.

_Inside the coffin…_

WHAT. THE. HELL!? One minute, the idiots are carrying my coffin were walking normally, and then the next thing I know, I'm being thrown against the left side of my coffin and rolling over a few fucking thousand times! So, I repeat, what the hell? I hit my head, so now I have a throbbing headache. Something had hit my coffin a few minuets ago. I assumed it was either a body, or weapons, but hell, what did I know? I was stuck in a fucking casket.

I could suddenly feel the ground shaking outside of my coffin. Explosions probably. They might be using exploding tags. It freaked me out. Were they fighting? Why? That's worrisome. I was in a coffin! I couldn't do anything! Those reasons made me worry and they filled me with a fluttering panic. I hated not being able to see what was going on or being able to do anything.

Then I heard something hit my coffin, the hardest thing to hit yet. The object left a nice and large dent on the top of my coffin, near my feet. I let out a small squeak and pulled my feet up towards my chest, away from the dent that was growing hotter by the second. I knew what the dent was caused by. An exploding tag.

Oh shit...

_Outside the coffin…_

Kakuzu threw a very sharp kunai, with an exploding tag attached at one end of the kunai, at one of the younger looking ninjas, and hit his target, directly through the neck. The ninja let out a strangled, gurgled cry as he flew backwards from the force, hitting the coffin and leaving a very large dent in the coffin, near the bottom. Kakuzu growled. That would damage the value and possible price of the coffin.

'_SHIT! The exploding tag is going to blow up the coffin!'_ Kakuzu suddenly thought, berating himself for forgetting about the valuable coffin before throwing the exploding tag near it, panic was coursing through Kakuzu's veins. Kakuzu did not go through all of this trouble; just to have the precious treasure that would bring him lots of money, be blown up, sky high. There was no time to reach the coffin in time to save it. With a large bang, Kakuzu saw the exploding tag, along with the ninja and the coffin, blow up.

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**Ohhhh... CLIFFY! Don't worry, I'll update soon... probably during work. It's short, but hey, I did this while I was supposed to be working. ^_^ Review it! 3 If you find any mistakes, please tell me and I will fix them! Thank you!**

**~Cat**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: WOOTS!!! Third chapter!!! ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited, and alerted my story! I appreciate it! Oh! And I lied. I'm switching my OC's first name back to Makita. Her name is now (first name, last name) Makita Amaterasu. I like it better. Sorry. –.–' Enjoy! 3 **

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_Inside the coffin…_

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There was a huge flash of almost blinding light that seemed to fill my coffin. I actually really like explosions; they're really pretty, but just not when I'm the one getting hit by them.

The earth shook beneath me. The part of the coffin where my feet were supposed to be (before I pulled my feet up towards my chest. I'm now curled into a ball… like a cat… I like cats…) blew apart. Fuck, this coffin was sturdy. It pissed me off. I hate my village. There was only a medium sized hole near the bottom of my coffin. The size of the hole could probably fit a small child through it. I was surprised I was still alive after that explosion. Granted, the explosion was much smaller than it would usually be, because the hard, protective shell of my coffin, but I thought for sure that I was going to get blown to smithereens. I let a sigh of relief out.

I slowly turned my body around in the coffin, so my face was looking out through the hole. I could see remains of a body that was blown apart. There were different body parts in different places. There was a leg hanging from a tree, and an arm near the opening of the hole in my coffin. Shit. This coffin must be hard to open if an explosion only did minuscule damage. Holy fuck. At least my coffin was open. Now I could get out and escape.

I looked at the people who were fighting. One man with silver slicked back hair, wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. He was carrying a huge ass scythe on his back and fighting with a dark haired ninja wearing a light blue shirt and bright, fluorescent yellow ninja pants. The scythe man had just decapitated his opponent. Wow. Scary.

The other man was wearing the same cloak as the scythe man (black with red clouds on it) had eerie green eyes and a mask covering the lower half of his face. The masked ninja was fighting a tall ninja, wearing a bright pink shirt and a pair of pale green pants. The masked man was winning his fight. Shit, these men were powerful.

Well, I took that as my cue to get the hell out of here.

With a light grunt, I stuck my arms out of the hole in my coffin. I grabbed the sides of the hole on the outside of my coffin, where the explosion has blown chunks of the metal everywhere, and I pulled. I pulled and I struggled to free myself from my casket. Soon, my upper body was free from the coffin. I had gotten halfway out of my coffin, and all by myself, too.

I took a deep breath of fresh, clean air. It felt so incredibly good. I could feel the sun on my face, the wind blowing gently through my hair, and I could hear the leaves moving in the wind. God, I felt amazing. All of it did. The only problem was that it was so damn bright. The light was blinding. I couldn't keep my eyes open. I shut my eyes tightly as I lay on my back, breathing in deep lung-fulls of air.

I was happy. Extremely happy. I was happy to be alive. I was happy to be able to see to world around me. I was happy to be able to smell the sweet, sweet smell of clean oxygen. I was happy to be able to hear noises and sound clearly. But most of all, I was happy to be out of my fucking coffin.

I was weak though. I knew it. Just climbing out of my coffin put so much stress on my weakened, out of shape body, that I was already exhausted and gasping for air. Fuck my life. I glanced down at my body, to see what it looked like after all those years underground. I gasped. I was shocked at what I saw. Absolutely shocked. Stunned. Horrified. Scared, even.

My arms and legs looked like small, thin, breakable sticks. My hands were bony. The once tight shirt that I was buried in was now small, loose, and baggy on my body. I raised a shaky hand and lifted up my shirt to see what my stomach looked like. I saw my ribs. It looked like my bones were trying to rip my skin open.

My skin clung to the bones. I looked like a skeleton. I looked like someone who was actually dead. The pants that I was wearing were so big, if I dragged myself out of my coffin, my pants would probably fall off. I didn't know what my face or hair looked like, but I didn't want to know. The awful condition of my body was bad enough.

My worst nightmare had come true. I was now a fucking anorexic. A skeleton. Only I didn't do this to myself. Before I was buried in my coffin, under six feet of dirt, rocks, and sand, I prided myself on being a healthy, curvy, well-muscled, fit, 145-pound ninja. I was a size six. My family didn't like the idea of me not being small and skinny like everyone else seemed to be. I didn't care what my clan, my family, or anyone else thought about me though. It was MY body. My clan members are known for being very thin and small. Not me. I didn't want to be like all the other girls and be a stick. I personally don't find bones jutting out of your body attractive in any way, shape, or form.

I hated seeing girls starving themselves, exercising like mad, and putting their minds and bodies through hell. I thought it was stupid, pointless, and a way to a slow, painful, and early death. Now I looked exactly like one of them. It scared me. Ugh. I felt completely horrible. You can't blame me though. It wasn't my fault that my body was like this. I hadn't eaten or drank anything in a long, long time. So, technically, I am not anorexic. I didn't do this to myself. My village did this to me.

My hatred and anger towards the Village of the Shape Shifters increased a tenfold, while my confidence in myself decreased until it was practically non-existent. Fuck. I probably looked like an actual corpse. Dead. Not alive. Well… at least my mind wasn't as deteriorated as my body.

I didn't know what was going to happen to me. Were my captors going to kill me? Were they going to take me with them? Or were they going to leave me here to die? This was just too frustrating and way too confusing. I felt nauseous. I wanted to vomit. Too bad there was nothing in my stomach for me to throw up.

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_Third Person's POV..._

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Kakuzu had just finished off his opponent, slicing his arms and legs off, then stabbing his opponent through the heart. The leaf ninja were weak and easy to kill. Hidan looked over and smirked at Kakuzu.

"That was fucking easy." Hidan said.

Kakuzu glared at his partner and looked towards the coffin, to see how much damage the coffin had received from the exploding tag. Kakuzu's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Hidan took notice of his partner's action and looked towards the coffin as well.

"What the fuck is that?" Hidan asked no one in particular.

There was a girl, halfway out of the coffin. Kakuzu knew that she wasn't there before Hidan and he had fought and killed the weak leaf ninjas. Kakuzu was certain that there had only been four ninjas that attacked them. Why didn't he sense her chakra signature before?

Kakuzu stared at what he thought was a corpse, but then noticed that the 'corpse' was moving. Kakuzu stared, eyes widening a bit more. The body's chest was moving, going up and down, breathing. Hidan had gone back to staring at Kakuzu, not knowing that there was a corpse that was breathing or what Kakuzu was so enraptured by. Hidan had just though it was a corpse, another ninja that they missed, but got killed by them anyways, that it was nothing special or important.

"What the fuck? Seriously Kakuzu, necrophilia is fucked up. Let's get the fuck out of here." Hidan said, turning as if to walk away. When Kakuzu didn't follow Hidan, Hidan growled and looked towards the corpse again.

Hidan's eyes widened as well. A girl. Breathing. She looked like the dead. What the hell was she doing here? Was Hidan actually seeing what he thought he was seeing? Both Hidan and Kakuzu heard the corpse groan. It was alive?

"Where the fuck did it come from?" Hidan asked his partner quietly.

"Where do you think? She's still halfway inside the coffin. I think it's pretty obvious that she was the body in the coffin that had been buried in the ground." Kakuzu snapped back at Hidan, annoyed at how stupid he was.

"Well, no shit. I meant how the fuck is she still fucking alive?" Hidan asked in a huff.

"How the hell would I know?" Kakuzu said back.

Hidan stared at the girl. How the hell was she still alive? After being in the ground for, what? One hundred and fifty years? Was she an immortal like him? Hidan looked over her body. She was scarily thin. It was disturbing. If she weren't breathing, Hidan would have though that she actually was a dead corpse.

Hidan looked at her face. She looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. Her eyes were closed and her long red hair looked dull and thin. Her face was gaunt and sunken in. Her cheekbones and all of other bones in her face stuck out, her skin seemed like it was sticking to her bones. She looked sick. Anorexic. Dead. Her body looked frail, thin, and weak. She would be easy to kill. Hidan or Kakuzu couldn't even sense a chakra signature coming from her.

The girl was moving, dragging her body backwards and dragging her legs out of her coffin. Hidan took note that the clothes she wore were a few sizes too big. Soon, she had dragged herself completely out of the coffin. She was breathing heavily. She looked completely exhausted.

Then the corpse began to try to stand up.

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_Makita's POV..._

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I struggled to pull the rest of my weak body out of my coffin. I was already completely drained of energy. I was so tired. I wanted to get out of the sun and sleep. With plenty of effort, I pushed myself up, stood up, and almost fell down again. Luckily for me, I was by a tree, so as soon as I felt like I was going to fall over, I leaned and caught myself against the tall, sturdy tree, shutting my eyes tightly, and breathing like I had run five thousand kilometres at full speed. I hated this! I hated feeling weak and helpless and useless.

I leaned against the tress and slowly opened my eyes, blinking in the bright light. I fully took notice of my surroundings for the first time since being released out of my coffin. I saw scythe man and mask man a few feet away from me, staring with wide eyes. I glared.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" I croaked out. I winced a little. Talking hurt my throat.

"You, that's the fuck what." Scythe man snapped back.

"I don't like you. You're an ass." I shot back at him. "Some help would have been fucking appreciated."

Scythe man snorted. "We're Akatsuki. We don't need to help you."

"Tch. I don't care if you're the fucking king of the world. You 'Akatsuki' don't sound scary at all." I hissed. I was lying. These men scared the shit out of me. I saw how easily they killed four ninja. I just put of natural verbal defences. If someone insults me, annoys me, etcetera, I get pissy and snap back, regardless of consequences.

"Hidan, shut up. She's too weak to do anything. Let's just take the coffin and go." The masked man muttered to his partner.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No. It's MY coffin. You can't just take it without my permission." I said.

Yeah, I know, that was very hypocritical of me. I hate my coffin, really, I do, but you have to understand, I know how much it would be worth if I sold it. I could support the next three generations of my family and myself for the rest of my life. Hell, I needed the money right now. All I owned were the clothes on my back and that god damn coffin. I was going to fight for the fucking coffin, no matter what. It was _mine_ and no one was going to take was what rightfully mine.

"Kakuzu, can I just kill the stupid bitch now?" I heard the man named Hidan ask the man named Kakuzu.

"No, she's not worth it. Let's just grab the coffin and go." Kakuzu said back.

"I can hear you, you know. It's my coffin, assholes. MINE. Don't think I won't do anything just because I've been six feet under for… three years?" I said, randomly guessing how long I had been buried in the ground.

"You've been in that fucking coffin for longer than that, bitch. One fucking hundred and fifty years." Hidan told me, smirking when he saw the look of shock on my face.

"What?" I asked weakly, shocked that I had missed so much. Thinking about the family that helped have me condemned and how they were dead. Sure, I didn't get along with my family, but I am not completely heartless. I still somewhat cared about them.

"You heard me, whore. One hundred and fifty years. You're fucking old." Hidan laughed.

I glared at him and mumbled, "Shut up. I'm not THAT old…"

"No, I'm not going to fucking shut up. Don't fucking lie to yourself either bitch. You're an old fucker." Hidan laughed.

"Hidan! Stop arguing and let's go. She's not worth our time. Leader-sama is going to get pissed if we take any longer." Kakuzu said, sighing and walking towards my coffin and me.

"AUGH!" I shouted, causing the two 'Akatsuki' members to look at me like I was crazy. "IT'S MINE GODDAMN IT! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!"

"What are you gonna do about it, bitch?" Hidan asked, laughing.

"This!" I shrieked as I used whatever small amount of chakra my system had regained after I escaped my coffin, to jump at Hidan and turn into a giant wolf.

My anger gave me the fuel and the strength I needed to attempt to kill the Akatsuki member. I leaped right at Hidan, with the intent to kill. My wolf form was snarling and snapping at Hidan as I flew at him. I was ready to kill him. I was ready to cause this asshole pain. I was ready to hurt him. I was so close to ripping his head off, about half a metre away from Hidan, when some fucking threads came out of nowhere, grabbed me, and hurled me, quite forcefully, into a tree.

Pain shot up my spine. I felt like I was on fire. All I could think of was the pain. All I felt was the white-hot searing pain that was everywhere, consuming me. I saw stars. Then I saw black. Nothingness. I had passed out.

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**A/N: WOOT! I finished the third chapter! I have already begun the next chappie, and I hope to have it up sometimes this week. ^_^ Please R&R. Any ideas who Makita should be paired with? I have a few ideas, but I'd really appreciate some feed back. Thank you for reading! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

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Well, here is the fourth chapter! It took a little longer than I thought it would to get out, but it's out now! ^_^ Enjoy! 3

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I woke up with a light groan. My whole body hurt. It felt like I was run over by a few million horses. It was ridiculous. I had a headache too, to top it all off. The noises in the background weren't helping that much either. I opened my eyes and blinked. The first thing I noticed was that it was bright. Gross. The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't where I was knocked unconscious. I was in a room. The room was completely white and the walls were completely bare. The room was a hospital room, to be exact. I took notice to the various tubes and needles that were inserted into my body. There were many different machines that the tubes and needles were attached to, which were hooked up to my body, making annoying beeping sounds. That was where the noise was coming from. The noises weren't helping my headache much. I took in a deep breath through my nose. The air smelt disgusting. Ugh. I hate the way hospitals smell. Like death, antiseptic, various cleaning products, and medicine.

I took notice of the different machines that were all hooked up to me. A few IV tubes were attached to my body, but I didn't know what the other machines were for or why the medical equipment was stuck to me. I hated hospitals. I had no desire to be a medical ninja. Not only was it a confusing and stressful job, but also the idea of it kind of repulses me. I would probably get really impatient with the patients I would have to treat. I couldn't stand constant complaining.

I heard voices outside of the room I was staying in. They were low and I couldn't distinguish exactly what the voices were saying. Then the door clicked open, and a young lady walked in. She had short pink hair and green eyes. She was shorter than I was, I could tell. She was pretty. The girl was carrying a clipboard, so I assumed she was a doctor or some type of medical ninja. I stared at her in a creepy way, trying to creep her out, but sadly, the girl didn't notice. Darn.

"Hello. I am Sakura. I will be your medic for the time being. Do you need me to help you with anything? " The pink haired girl said.

I grunted in response. I hated this. I wanted to get out of here. I could take care of myself. Why did she think I needed help? I am perfectly capable of doing things on my own. I am not a child. I am not a person who needs to be monitored every second of everyday either. Sakura had turned her back to me and was writing something own on the damned clipboard of hers. I sat up and winced as pain shot up my spine and spread to my arms and to my legs. I hissed. I tried to move my arm to hold my back, but my arm was stopped short. I was chained to the hospital bed.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" I shrieked, earning myself a startled yelp from the green-eyed medic.

"Is there anything wrong, Miss?" Sakura came over to me, as worried look in her eyes.

"No, not at all. Everything is perfectly fine… I just have a small issue… It's just that my arm is fucking chained to the fucking bed!" I said, getting angrier with each passing second. I was not a criminal.

"It is just a safety precaution, Miss. I mean… uhm… we, meaning the village and our leaders, and the ninjas here, don't know anything about you or where you're from… do you see me point? If you answer a few of my simple questions, I'll see what I can do about unchaining you. Okay?" She said.

I quickly thought it over. What could it hurt? "Fine, but only if you answer a few of my questions as well." I said back.

"Fine. I'll begin." Sakura said as she pulled up a chair from beside my bed and sat on it. "What is your name?"

"My name is Makita." I mumbled.

"Last name?" Sakura asked, while writing down the information about me.

"Amaterasu …" I answered.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Err…" I faltered. What was I supposed to say? _'Oh, well, I just happen to be about one hundred and sixty nine years old'_ No. I'll lie. Make myself seem younger than I am. "Sixteen."

"Okay. Where are you from?"

"Uhm… I can't tell you…" I said, looking away, avoiding eye contact.

"And why not?" Sakura questioned, interested now that I wouldn't answer her questions.

"You haven't answered any of my questions yet." I said, trying to make up an excuse.

There was an explicit rule of not telling anyone or anything where we, the shape shifters, came from and/or our village, if someone happened to ever escape. It was said that the person who told about the village would be hunted down and killed in the most painful and brutal ways possible. Wait, what the hell am I thinking? Did they drug me? I hate my old village… so why don't I tell this medic everything? Hm… no… that would make it much too easy. I inwardly smirked. This girl should work her mind to get my answers. I'm going to be difficult. Heh. Maybe then she'll go away and I can plan out my escape…

"Where am I?" I said using my 'serious' voice I reserved for interrogation.

Sakura seemed surprised at my instant change in demeanour. It's not my fault. I'm just a very moody person and right now, I'm kind of, sort of, REALLY pissed off that I was chained to a bed. They were treating me like I was some sort of common criminal! I assure you, I am in no way a criminal. Was I an anarchist against my village? Yes. I still am. A criminal? No. Not really. I hadn't really done anything really illegal or wrong.

"You're in the Konoha, a ninja village, also known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You're in the hospital because of the wounds you had and your current condition. We healed you, but you are going to have to stay here a few days so we can monitor your progress. You are also going to be sore for a couple of days…"

"What are you talking about?" I hissed.

"U-u-uh… well, when you were brought in, we found that you had fractured your leg, you had knocked a few discs in your spine out of place and also fractured the lower half of your spine, near your tailbone, you had multiple cracked ribs in multiple places, some internal bleeding, bruising, and a severe concussion. Not to mention you look like you haven't eaten anything in years."

Heh. Sakura doesn't know how close she came to guessing how long it has been since I had eaten last, but she doesn't need to know exactly how long it has been… it's none of her business, really. Hm, speaking (or thinking) of food makes me hungry. I wonder if Sakura will let me eat anything. I want food. Some dango would be really great… with a few bowls of plain ramen… with some fruit… oh… vanilla ice cream as well… never mind. I'd eat anything that was put in front of my face. Even chocolate. Ugh. I hated chocolate. I was hungry though.

"Eh… I was on… an… uhm…ugh… I …" I said, trying to figure out how to word 'I wasn't anorexic or bulimic and that I didn't have an eating disorder of any kind', but say that I hadn't eaten in a while, without Sakura getting suspicious.

I didn't want to tell her where I was from. I didn't really trust Sakura. I didn't know who she was either. I had no information about her or where she was from. Granted, I knew about The Village Hidden in the Leaves, it was code in my old village. We learnt everything and anything from other villages that we knew of or found out about, but I still didn't know that much. We couldn't really leave the village. Only a few very special people were allowed to. Our leader and the leader's assistant. That's all I knew of who had ever left the village. The few people who left my old village would come back with information and new techniques all the time. I've wondered why the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters even had ninjas. I guess it was a 'just in case' precaution. I don't know.

"You know," Sakura started, snapping me out of my thoughts, "Anorexia is an awful. It deteriorates your mind and your body. I know it must be hard, but if you need to talk about anything, I'll listen to you." She finished with a small smile on her face.

My eye was twitching. I felt it and I'm pretty sure Sakura saw it. "I'm not anorexic." I muttered.

"Your just in denial. It's okay to admit you have a problem." Sakura said I what I'm sure she thought was a re-assuring voice. It wasn't.

"I. Am. Not. An. Anorexic." I said, clearly annunciating every word.

"Then tell me Makita-san, why do you look like one?" She said, smiling a smug smile.

"I'd rather speak to someone who holds a higher position, is smarter than you, and has more power than you." I said with a glare.

Her mouth formed a thin line. I could tell that I was annoying her. I'm also pretty sure she wants to punch my lights out. Too bad I'm a patient and 'anorexic'. She can't hurt me. Ha. Poor Sakura. I think I'll enjoy annoying her.

"Well, you'll have to deal with me for now." Sakura said, and then added, "Deal with it."

I sighed, and began my continuous questioning again, "How long was I out for?"

"About nine days." Sakura answered, "We were worried you weren't going to wake up."

My eyes widened. "Wow… and I still feel tired… that's fucked up…"

"You're going to be tired for a while, until we get your body back to working condition. It is still pretty damaged because of you eating d-"

"Who found me and why was I brought here?" I quickly cut her off. I didn't need to get into any more arguments with Sakura about my supposed 'eating disorder'. I was also hoping she would still answer my questions. I had asked a lot already.

Sakura sighed, "Myself and the squad I was with found you. You were brought here because of your extensive injuries and for interrogation."

I perked up at the mention of me being interrogated. "What is the interrogation for? I didn't do anything wrong." I said, grinding my teeth together in anger.

"We think you might be in association with rouge ninjas." Sakura growled, giving me a glare that could have frozen over hell. "The bodies of four Konoha ninjas were found… sliced up and blown to smithereens. Do you know anything about that?"

I glared back at Sakura with an equally deadly glare on my face. "No, I am not associated with any criminals. I am only associated with my old village, but I have severed my ties there." I said, defending myself, only to continue speaking, answering her question, "Yes. I do have information about the people who killed those Konoha ninjas."

Sakura sat up straight in her chair and looked at me. "Well? Tell me who did it."

I smile slowly formed on my parched lips and then I said, "You have to do something for me first."

"It depends what it is…" Sakura said, eyes looking wary.

"Well, it's a few things. Nothing too big or intense, but first, I'd really appreciate my arm being unchained from the bed… I give my word that I won't do anything to hurt or maim you or others in this village in anyway…" I said, hoping that she would agree.

Sakura sighed, "Fine, but I'll have to put it back on later."

I raised my eyebrows at her, "Does it really look like I can go anywhere? I can't walk and I can barley stand on my own."

"Fine! What else do you want?" Sakura snapped while releasing my arm from the chains.

"Well…" I started, "I'm really hungry… and thirsty… would you mind getting me some food and water? Please?" I asked her with a sheepish smile.

"Okay. Fine. But you have to stay in your bed. As soon as I get back, you're going to tell me everything that you saw. Okay?" Sakura said sternly as she got up.

"Got it." I said as she walked out of the door.

I sighed and leaned my head back. This was tiring. Maybe I should have stayed in the coffin. I shook my head, trying to clear my head of the stupid thought that just went through my head. No. I would never go inside another coffin again. When I finally died, I wanted to be cremated and released into the sky. There was no way that I would be buried again.

Ugh. I was so fucking tired. Sleep would be really fantastic right now, but I had already given Sakura my word that I would tell her everything that I had seen as soon as she came back with food for me to eat. I never break a promise or go back on my word. I heard a knock on the door, and a voice ask if it was okay to enter.

"Yeah… come in…" I mumbled.

A person, a man, wearing a mask over the lower half of his face and a Leaf Village ninja headband over his left eye walked into my room and leaned against the wall farthest away from me. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Do you need anything?" I asked him in a bored tone of voice.

"I was just coming to check in on you, to see how you are doing." The masked man said.

"Uh huh. Translation: Sakura-san asked you to keep an eye on me so I don't go any where… correct?"

"Yeah…" He mumbled as he pulled out a book from a pouch on his belt and began to read.

"Uh huh… so… who are you?" I asked, trying to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Hatake Kakashi. Who are you?" He said, without looking us from his book. Hm, must be a good read.

"Amaterasu Makita."

"Amaterasu… as in the sun goddess who rules over the heavens?"

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. No one usually gets that right. My clan in the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters worshiped Amaterasu like she was better than life itself. It was ridiculous. I was told that Amaterasu had granted our clan with a special kekkei genkai. I was never told what the bloodline limit was, but I guess it was because I 'wasn't old enough' to know.

I also never prayed to Amaterasu. I didn't believe in her. I was (and still am) an atheist. I don't believe there is a god or a goddess. There's no point in running around and praying to something that doesn't exist. I also think that praying to Amaterasu to get a special 'bloodline limit' was just a ruse to get children to pray to her. I never saw anything in my clan that would indicate we had a special bloodline limit, at least, not that I remember.

I grinned at Kakashi, "Yeah. You're right. No one ever gets it… they just think it's a name…"

"Where are you from?" Kakashi asked me casually.

I assumed that Sakura had told Kakashi that I wouldn't tell her where I was from. The fucking sneaky bastards. Too bad that I actually have a brain…

"Earth…" I said with a smirk.

"I meant what village." Kakashi sighed.

"That's a secret." I told him with a wink.

"Why?" Kakashi asked. I could tell that I was testing his patience… yay…

"I just don't feel like telling you right now." I sighed, looking for an excuse to escape his questioning, "Oh look! Here comes Sakura-san!" Oh thank the heavens and the hells. I was so damn hungry.

"Ok Makita-san, I got your food for you… now you'll tell me everything… right?" Sakura said, checking that I was going to tell her what I had seen.

"Eat first. Talk later." I muttered as she placed the food in front of me.

Sakura had gotten the good stuff. She had brought me three sticks of dango, a bunch of grapes, and a tall glass of water. My mouth watered and I tore into the meal. I smiled in satisfaction. It tasted so good. Soon, in probably less than five minuets, I had completely finished my meal. Damn, it was delicious. I looked up at Sakura and smiled. I noticed that Kakashi had left the room. He probably had better things to do.

"The food was really good. Thank you Sakura-san!" I said, happy now that I had food in my body. I felt so much better now that I had eaten.

"No problem… now… you'll truthfully answer all the questions I ask you?" Sakura asked, probably making sure I didn't lie before.

"Yes. Okay… now, what do you want to know Sakura-san?" I said.

"Who did you see there? Who killed the ninjas from Konoha?" Sakura asked

"I saw two other ninjas. They were both wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. On man was carrying a giant scythe, I heard that his name was Hidan. The other man's name is Kakuzu, and he was wearing a mask over the lower half of his face. They were the ones who threw me into a tree." I explained. I noticed how Sakura tensed when I mentioned the black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"I see… tell me, why were you there in the first place?" The medic ninja said tensely.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I sighed.

"Try me." Sakura challenged.

"Fine. I was in my coffin." I replied.

"Coffin?" Sakura asked, seeming to not believe what she heard me say.

"Yeah… As a punishment I was buried six feet under in a coffin." I told her. Sakura had brought me food, so I thought she earned to know.

"What were you punished for?" Sakura asked, getting a steely-eyed look in her eyes.

"I didn't kill a whole bunch of people and I disagreed with the law in my old village." I muttered bitterly, remembering the stupid reasons for my imprisonment.

"I see. What village are you from?" Sakura inquired, leaning slightly foreword to hear what I had to say.

I took a deep breath and said, " I am, or used to be, from the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters."

There was a long pause as Sakura stared at me. I stared back at her. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head, but I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Then she looked away. She stared at the wall, thinking hard about something.

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked, finally looking at me, straight in the eye.

"Yes. I gave my word that I would not lie to you." I told Sakura, lifting a single eyebrow, "Why?"

"Uhm…" Sakura had suddenly become very nervous, "No reason…"

"You're lying. Tell me." I hissed.

"I don't know how to say this… but… The Hidden Village of Shape Shifters… it was found a few years ago… and it was destroyed. All the people there were killed. The village was overthrown. Konoha did it, but no other village knew that the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters was ever found or destroyed. Not many people even knew it ever existed. No one that we know of survived… except you. How the hell did you survive?"

"Well… shape shifters have a very long life span and we're pretty hard to kill. I was buried underground in a coffin. For one hundred and fifty years. I was buried when I was nineteen. Uhm… the two Akatsuki members… they dug me up and took my coffin with me inside it. The metal that y coffin was made out of is a rare metal, a chakra sucking metal that also impairs my ability to shape shift, and my coffin was covered over in gold. It's a fucking expensive coffin, made to make sure that I had no chance of getting out without help from someone outside my coffin, so I assume that is why the two ninjas in the black cloaks wanted it. I also assume that those two assholes thought I was dead. They were slightly surprised when I crawled out of there. Anyways, that is why I look like I'm anorexic. I'm not. I just haven't eaten anything in one hundred and fifty years." I said in one big breath.

Sakura stared at me. She looked pale and slightly nauseous. "Hold on." She said as she stood up and walked out of the room. Heh… Sakura looked like she saw a ghost.

As few minuets after Sakura left my room, two ANBU members walked in and stood beside the door, watching me. I sighed. This was stupid. I mean, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! I'm still too weak. It was a really stupid idea to try and attack that Hidan bastard. Ugh. It just made me fuck myself over. Now I'm screwed. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. Was I going to die? Eh. It would suck. I haven't even started living my life yet. If Konoha knew how to kill shape shifters easily, which I assume that they can, seeing as they exterminated the entire village I used to reside in, then I was screwed. Completely fucked. How did they find my old village anyways? It was most defiantly not easy to find. Us shape shifters can be very territorial as well… unless something happened. Maybe the law changed, or some people escaped and told Konoha where the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters was. But why were they all killed?

I looked up to the sounds of footsteps echoing down the hallway. The person's shoes clacked loudly against the floor as the person neared my room. The door opened and I saw a blonde woman with brown eyes enter. She muttered something to one of the ANBU members and both of them disappeared. The lady had a nice set of breasts on her as well. I'm sure they weighed as much as I did in my current condition.

"So… you're the girl that has made my apprentice so nervous…" The lady stated with a small smile.

"Uh… sure?" I said weakly. This lady was slightly intimidating. I was worried. Why did she come here?

She chuckled and sat in the chair that Sakura had last occupied. "You're a shape shifter? Tell me, how you came to be. How did you survive the attack on your village?" She questioned.

"Why should I tell you?" I asked her, a hint of defiance in my voice.

"I am the Hokage. You will answer my questions." She said. I could hear the subtle threat in her voice.

"Is that an order or just a suggestion?" I asked her, smirking, ignoring the deadly tone to her voice. I wanted to see how far I could push her.

"It is an order." She told me firmly.

"As I asked before… why? Why should I answer your questions?" I said, my smirk growing.

"Tell me or I will have to think of a punishment for you." She hissed at me angrily, eyes flashing dangerously. Oh… this was one lady I didn't think I'd mess with anymore. She might get the idea to put me back in a coffin six feet under the surface...

"Fine…" I grumbled, but then quickly added, "Hokage-sama." I then proceeded to tell the Hokage everything I had told Sakura.

"I see… I don't know what I'm going to do with you…" The Hokage grinned to herself, "By your tone of voice when you talk about the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters, you obviously have no positive emotions towards the village and I don't think you'd seek revenge on Konoha for killing off the people from your old home either. You also seem to have some pretty negative emotions towards the Akatsuki…"

"Your point?" I wondered what the Hokage was getting at.

"Well… I assume that you have nowhere to go… would you care to become a ninja in Konoha? Your powers could be a great benefit to the village. I think you'd make an excellent spy." The Hokage said.

I thought about it for a few moments. I'd like to get back my former strength and the Hokage had a point, I had nowhere to go. But did I really want to be a ninja? I thought about my choices for a few more minuets, going over and weighing all the pros and cons in my head. After a while, I smiled. "It's a deal."

"Excellent. Of course, you'd have to get healthy again. Once that happens, we'll start your training to strengthen your body and work on your ninjutsu and genjutsu and taijustsu." The Hokage said with a grin.

"When can we start?" I asked the Hokage.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

"I want to start training as soon as possible. I've been still for much too long." I sighed with a small smile of anticipation.

"As soon as you're able." The Hokage smiled, "I'm glad to see you're eager."

"Okay… Can I try to walk now? I'm really, really sick of not doing anything…" I asked.

"No… it would be better to rest until you are fully and completely healed. I don't want you over exerting yourself and then having to wait longer to begin training…" The Hokage told me.

"Damn… when can I get out of here? I really hate hospitals…" I muttered under my breath with a pout on my face.

"As soon as you are able. Then we'll talk about housing arrangements and other things of the sort. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Sounds great." I said with a quiet sigh.

"Good. Get some rest." The Hokage said with a smile as she turned and left my hospital room.

I sighed. Thinking over what I had agreed to. Did I really want to be a ninja? Granted, I had nowhere to go, no money, and no family. I had nothing. The only thing that I would know how to do was be a ninja, but did I really want to live a life full of death and sorrow? All I really wanted was to live my new coffin free life the way I wanted, but if I became a ninja again, I could never do that. I would always be answering to someone else. There will always be someone of a higher level or higher powers than myself. Another problem is that ninjas are always surrounded by the horrors of life. They see people at their worst. Ninjas also see never ending violence, terror, death, and broken and shattered people and dreams. Did I really, truly want that?

Truthfully, the only reason I agreed to become a ninja here in Konoha is because I wanted my old body back. I wanted to be strong and learn new techniques. I was almost certain that you could be trained as a ninja here for free; while in the Hidden Village of Shape Shifters you had to pay to become a ninja. That was another factor in my decision. I knew I was going to have to work hard and my 'road to recovery' will be difficult. I could always leave the village, or run away if I didn't want to be a ninja here anymore, but then that would mean I would become a missing ninja. Becoming a missing nin and running away was always an option to keep in mind. Now that I think of it, I really don't want to stay here in Konoha, but I, sadly, had already agreed to train and become a Konoha ninja, so there was no going back.

I sighed and shook my head, clearing out my thoughts. I was so incredibly tired, yet I couldn't sleep. I found it very annoying. I was bored again, too. I stared at the ceiling, for how long, I don't really know. I was just not used to seeing anything, even a blank, white ceiling was interesting. I tried for what seemed like an eternity to find different patterns and shapes in the cracked ceiling. I heard the door open and I turned my head over to the side. It was just Sakura.

"Hi." I greeted her. She jumped slightly and turned to look at me.

"Damn it, Makita-san! You scared me!" She said.

I giggled. "Sorry. I couldn't resist the temptation to scare you a little."

"I thought you were sleeping..." Sakura said, nervously scratching the back of her head, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No. I was already awake. I couldn't fall asleep." I answered Sakura.

"Okay. Good." She replied back with a small, awkward smile.

"Why are you here?" I asked Sakura; curious to why she would be here.

"Just to check if you need anything..." Sakura said.

"Nope. I'm fine." I replied back. I wished she would just leave me alone.

"Makita-san?" I heard Sakura ask.

"Yeah, Sakura-san?" I said, glancing at her.

"You know that you can't tell anyone else that you're a shape shifter? Right?" I heard Sakura say quietly, almost as if she was afraid that someone else would hear.

"Why not?" I questioned, a little angry. A shape shifter is what I was. If she had a problem with that, then I would have to maim her.

"Many people would be interested in what you can do... some people who don't have good intentions... I don't want any one else I know to be persuaded to do something really stupid…" she replied back.

"I see…" I mumbled, not really sure what she was talking about.

"The only people who will know that you can shape shift will be Tsunade-sama and myself." Sakura informed me.

"Alright. I trust that you or her won't tell anyone…" I sighed, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Yup." Sakura said, looking at the door.

"Uhm… who is Tsunade?" I asked, feeling slightly stupid.

"The Hokage…" Sakura replied, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Ah… I see…" I mumbled.

"Are you sure that you don't need anything else?" Sakura asked again.

"Positive." I replied with a wink.

"Completely sure?" Sakura prodded.

"Actually, now that I think of it, I could really go for a bath." I snapped, hoping it would get her off of my case.

"Alright. I'll get it ready and then I'll help you." Sakura said.

"I can do it myself." I said.

"In your condition, you can't. Don't fight me on this, Makita-san. I'm the doctor." Sakura said, smirking.

"Ugh. Fine. Be like that." I hissed at Sakura. I was too tired to fight her on this.

"Alright. The bathroom is right across the hallway from your room. I'll start the bath and then I'll help you get set up in there. Sound good?"

"Peachy. Just peachy." I said sarcastically.

"Humph. I'll be right back."

"Whatever…" I grumbled, glaring at Sakura's retreating form.

I really could do this myself. How else was I supposed to learn how to use my body again if the people here won't let me do anything on my own? This was stupid. Was Sakura going to be in the bathroom while I was taking a bath? I hope to fucking hell that she won't be there. I had issues with people seeing me naked, especially when I looked like this. Ugh. Life sucks. It just does. Karma's a really big bitch too.

"Okay, Makita-san, the bath is ready for you." Sakura said, pushing a wheelchair in front of her.

My eye twitched. No. No, no, no, no, NO! I was NOT going to be pushed around like a tiny five-year-old. I am one hundred and sixty nine years old, for fucks sake! I can do things by myself. I glared at Sakura and huffed, turning my head away from her.

"I am not using that… that… _thing_." I hissed angrily.

"Makita-san…" Sakura sighed. I could tell that she was very tired and quite annoyed with me.

"NO!" I all but shouted at her.

"You promised not to fight me one this…" Sakura said, trying to guilt me into making this easy.

"I didn't promise, I just said I wouldn't…I LIED!" I shouted.

"You're acting like a six year old…" Sakura sighed, rubbing her hand on her forehead, just like a frustrated and stressed out mother would.

"I'd prefer to be called a five year old." I said sarcastically as I smirked at her.

"Makita-san!" Sakura said in an exasperated voice. I could tell I was wearing down to her last nerves.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Just. Get. In. The. Wheel. Chair." Sakura said, enunciating every word, trying, but failing to keep the anger and annoyance she was feeling from seeping into her tone.

"…Do I have to?" I whined, seeing if I could make her snap.

"Yes." She said quietly. I think she thought that I was going to cooperate now. The poor, poor, child.

"No. I don't want to." I said childishly, while giving her what I classified as my evil smile.

"ARGH!" Sakura shrieked, throwing her hands up in exasperation, "You're being so incredibly difficult."

"I know. Thank you." I smiled at her.

"It wasn't a compliment" The pink haired medic glared at me.

"But I took it as one." I shot back, still smiling.

"Just get in the wheel chair." Sakura said in a commanding tone.

"Make me." I challenged.

"Fine!" Sakura yelled, stomping over to the hospital bed I was currently laying on and picking me up, bridal style. My mouth opened in shock and my eyes widened. I didn't think she'd actually come and carry me.

"NO! I was kidding! Put me down!" I whined, not liking being carried at all, "Why can't you just help me walk?"

"Because…" Sakura started, but I could tell she was scrambling for an excuse to why she couldn't just help me walk to the bathroom.

"You don't really have a reason, do you?" I asked her with a knowing gaze.

"…No…" Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Ha! Then put me down and we can walk there." I said in triumph.

"You're not going to let me put you in the wheel chair without a huge fuss…are you?" Sakura asked.

"Nope." I replied.

"Fine." Sakura muttered. I could tell she was not happy about me getting my way, but hell, I would have kept annoying her.

I chuckled, "Okay… how are we going to do this?"

"Uhm… put your arm over my shoulders, and I'll help you walk there." The green-eyed girl told me.

"Okay." I agreed.

After a few minuets of me struggling to get out of the bed and Sakura trying not to purposefully drop me on the floor, we had got to the bathroom. Sakura placed me on a chair near the bathtub and turned to look at me.

"Do you need help taking off your clothes?" Sakura asked me.

"Why? You want to see me naked?" I grinned as Sakura's face slowly turning redder with each passing moment.

"N-no!" Sakura stuttered, immediately defending herself and avoiding all eye contact, "I don't swing that way! It's strictly professional! I just wanted to know of you needed help!"

I laughed, I had embarrassed her, "I was only kidding, Sakura-san. No I don't need any help. I can do this by myself."

"Fine. I'll be on call. If you need my assistance, you can pull this red chord," Sakura said, gesturing to a red coloured chord near the bathtub that was full of hot and steaming water, "And I or one of the other nurses will come and help you."

"Right. Got it."

"Alright. Have a pleasant bath." Sakura said, walking out of the bathroom and shutting the door tightly behind her.

I sighed and took in my surroundings. It was a small bathroom, with a medium sized bathtub, a toilet, a small sink, and a huge full-length mirror. There was a small chair, the one that I was currently sitting on, by the door. The walls were a pale beige colour and the floor tiles were grey with flecks of blue in them. There were bars attached to the wall and the inside of the bathtub. I assumed that they were there to help people walk and do things for themselves.

I grabbed onto one of the bars and pulled myself up. I was wobbly. I leaned heavily on the bar for support. I sighed and slowly forced myself to walk towards the bathtub. It was harder. Much harder than it was supposed to be. I hated the Village Hidden by the Shape Shifters. I'm glad they were all killed. I muttered angrily under my breath until I got to the edge of the bathtub. I sat down on the edge and looked over to the mirror. I gasped at what I saw.

I thought I looked horrible when I first saw my body, but the mirror made me look sixteen hundred times worse, because now, I could actually see what my face looks like. My once healthy red hair was now lanky and dead. My hair was no longer vibrant, but dull. My face was sunken in. My entire head looked like a skull. My once bright yellow eyes were now flat and lifeless. I looked like the dead. I looked completely awful. One word could describe how I looked: ugly. I shuddered.

The fact that I was so unhealthy and so sick and so frail and so ugly and the fact that I couldn't do anything physically for myself without help from others brought tears of anger to my eyes. How could my old village have done this to me? I clenched my fists together. There was nothing I could do about it now. All of the previous members of my old village were dead and gone.

I promised myself then and there that I would become stronger and get back my old body and that I would become healthy again. I was not going to let this stupid ordeal get to me… too much. I smirked at myself in the mirror. I _was_ going to be strong again. I was going to live the life I wanted.

And I told myself that I wasn't going to care about what others thought of me.

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**There you have it! Chapter four! I tried to make this one really long. I hope that you liked it! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five, baby! Thank you very, very much to all who reviewed, alerted, and favourited my story! It means a lot and I really appreciate it. Sorry it took a while longer to get out, but I had writer's block and I had to study for my finals and I had to work for many days in a row. But, now that they are done, all I have to worry about is work! ^_^ I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

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_Two years and four months later…_

I looked up at the fluffy clouds that were drifting lazily in the air. I sighed and looked to my left, where Sakura was walking beside me. I let out a soft sigh. I was bored. Sakura and I were going to meet Tsunade-sama, and then Sakura told me that she was going to introduce me to an old teammate of hers that went off to train for two and a half years. Narto, or Narteeo, or something like that. I wasn't really listening to Sakura when she was explaining to me what we were going to do today. I hadn't seen Sakura so excited in… ever. I glanced back at the sky. I had come a long way.

Two years and four months seemed billions of years away. I was stronger and so much healthier now. It took ten months of staying in a hospital for me to be deemed 'fit enough' and 'healthy enough' to get out. I shuddered at the thought. It was ten months of hell. I hated each and every second of every day of my stay. Hospitals are evil. I swear. They're out to get me. If I could do anything about it, I would never, ever, enter another hospital in my lifetime.

I passed by a shop window, the reflective glass showing me my reflection. I still didn't like the way I looked. Sure, I wasn't all skin and bones now, but I was still too thin and now instead of looking anorexic, I looked like a recovered anorexic. Ugh. Sakura said because of all of the trauma my body went through, I would never be able to weigh anything more or be any size larger than my current size two. It had something to do with my metabolism and my chakra balance or some shit like that. I didn't listen to her when she was explaining about it. Ugh. I was too damn thin.

I stopped in the middle of the street, staring at my reflection in the shop window. My yellow, almond shaped eyes were now more alive looking and bright. They had a threatening look in them. My eyes were the eyes of a predator. I liked that. It meant that other people would be less likely to attack me.

My hair was no longer dull, flat, and lanky. It was a bloody red colour, healthy looking, straight, and sat just below my shoulders. I had thick side bangs covering my right eye. I had received a nasty scar going diagonally across my right eye during some really intense training. I almost lost my eye, but Tsunade-sama was able to heal it just in time. The injury was caused by a, no, not a kunai, not a shuriken, not even with a sharp object that could be used in combat, but with a tree branch. It was so incredibly stupid. I was running during some training, and not paying attention to where I was running, when I ran into a tree and got half my face sliced off. The tree branch was surprisingly sharp. It was incredibly idiotic on my part. Ugh. I hated my scar.

I studied my heart shaped face. My face was very angular and my features were sharp and defined. My lips were medium sized and my bottom lip was too full compared to my upper lip. My cheekbones were very pronounced and I had a sharp, slightly pointed chin. My skin was tanned. Very, very tanned. I spent most of my time outdoors. I loved being outside. Many different people told me that I resembled a cat. I personally couldn't see it, but then again, I noticed animalistic characteristics in others, but I couldn't find them in myself. Maybe I resembled a cat just because I was really flexible. Although I did think I looked more like a predator than prey. I don't know.

I looked at what I was wearing. I really liked my clothes. I was wearing baggy, black ninja pants with about a billion pockets, with black ninja sandals. I also had a dark blue tank top with black splatters of paint on it. I was wearing fishnet on my arms and black fingerless gloves. My black Konoha ninja headband was tied around my waist, like a belt and I had a kunai pouch tied around my right leg. I stared at myself, taking in my whole appearance. Sure, I wasn't completely horrible looking, but I wasn't gorgeous or special looking either.

"Makita-chan! Are you coming?" Sakura yelled. I noticed that Sakura had stopped quite a ways ahead of me.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Don't have a panic attack." I shouted back to her.

I took one last look at my appearance before running after Sakura. I stopped next to her and smiled. Sakura smiled back at me. No words were exchanged as we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Over the last two years Sakura and I had somewhat become friends. Besides the fact that we both annoyed each other to the brink of madness, we usually got along well, on a good day, at least.

I wasn't placed on a ninja squad. I did missions that required one person (myself) that either involved spying or assassination. I also was not allowed to shape shift in front of anyone that I wasn't going to kill on my missions and I couldn't shape shift in Konoha or tell anyone about my powers. Tsunade was paranoid about someone from another village would find out about me and try to capture me or persuade me to leave Konoha or some shit like that. Apparently that happened once, but no one seems willing to talk about it and it is not my place to ask.

I looked down at the ground. At the moment I was a chunin. A fact that I really resented. I should have been a jonin, or even ANBU by now, but Tsunade-sama was really reluctant to let me advance. She said I needed more training. I guess Tsunade-sama's choice to not let me advance made sense (even though it annoyed me to no end…). My skills in spying surpassed jonin level and were qualified at a high ANBU level, but my genjutsu skills were slightly weaker than the average chunin. I was highly skilled in taijutsu (Thanks to the extremely brutal taijutsu training with Gai… dear fucking lord… that was the most awful training I have ever went through… I still have nightmares about it…) and I was above average in ninjutsu. I guess that the only thing holding me back was my lack of skill in the genjutsu area, but really, when the hell would I need to use it?

Another thing that really pissed me off was that Tsunade told everyone that I was fifteen when I first came to Konoha. So now, two years later, everyone here thinks I'm only seventeen at the moment. That means no going to do any fun things that become legal when you're considered an adult. I reality, I'm one hundred and seventy one years old. Twenty-one in human years I guess. I think Tsunade told everyone I was so young to explain my lack of skill and general thinness and stupidity about the past and shit like that. I was actually pretty tall. I was five feet eight inches tall. I liked my height. I wasn't freakishly tall (Well, for a woman I was taller than average) and I wasn't freakishly short.

Today I really wanted to go to sleep. I was doing goddamn fucking genjutsu training until late last night and was woken up early to do even more of it. Tsunade and my sensei for genjutsu, Kurenai Yuhi, were completely hell bent on making my skill improve. Ugh… I hated genjutsu with a burning passion. To me, genjutsu seemed like a really sick form of mind rape. Not even a cool form of mind rape. Just awful, horrific, mind rape. Ugh. Just thinking about genjutsu was like mind rape. Heh. Mind rape. I like the phrase. It made me giggle. RAPE OF THE MIND!!! Heh… mind rape…

Anyways, my life in Konoha, so far, has been okay. I was so incredibly happy that I chose to become a ninja here. The village was so friendly and the people just radiate happiness. It was like a joy explosion happened. I liked it. I got along well with a few people, while others had an obvious dislike for me and in turn, I disliked them back.

I knew that there were ANBU watching and monitoring me. The ANBU weren't even secretive about it. They don't watch me as much as they used to, but the apartment that I was given by Tsunade-sama is _conveniently_ located on the ANBU route and the usual route the guards pass by. I wasn't stupid. I knew that even though I had pledged my allegiance and that I was now a citizen and a ninja of Konoha, they weren't going to fully trust me for a while. I was still a shape shifter and for some reason, Konoha found them dangerous enough to kill every one of them in my old village. Too bad I kind of sucked at being a ninja. For someone my age, I should be jonin or above, but I'm not. I fail.

"Makita-san! You're daydreaming as much as Shikamaru! Wake up!" I heard Sakura say, sounding far away. My head snapped up and I stared at Sakura, who was about a good ten feet ahead of me.

"Hey! I'm nothing like him. I'm in no way as lazy as he is! I am completely myself." I grinned at Sakura, running to catch up to her.

"Sure, sure. What were you thinking so hard about?" Sakura questioned, smiling back at me.

"Nothing much, just stuff." I replied, glancing at the sky.

"I see…" Sakura said, studying me with a raised eyebrow.

"So, what exactly are we doing today? How long is it going to take? I do have some training later toady…" I asked Sakura, stretching my arms out in front of myself.

"Well, we have to find Tsunade-sama, and the we have to go and meet Naruto… I'm not sure how long it will take." Sakura said.

"Ugh… Do I really have to meet him? I don't want to…I could be doing more productive things…" I started, trying to find an excuse to get out of meeting Sakura's old teammate.

"Please Makita-chan! It's really important to me… I'd really like you to meet him!" Sakura said, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh. Fine. You owe me." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

Sakura beamed at me, "Thanks Makita-san. You'll like him. I think you two will get along really well."

I raised my eyebrow, "Alright… if you say so…"

I stared at my hands, picking at the non-existent dirt under my fingernails. I was so bored. I was also running out of interesting things to think about or go over. Then a voice snapped me put of my thoughts,

"Hey, Makita-san?" Sakura said, turning her head to look at me.

"Hmm?" I answered her.

"Uh… do you like it here in Konoha?" Sakura said, smiling at me.

I looked up at Sakura, surprised she would ask a question like that, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"U-uh… no real reason…" Sakura said, smiling at me again and then looking away.

I didn't believe her for a second, but I was too lazy to interrogate her for an answer. "Hey, there's Tsunade-sama." I told Sakura.

"Hello Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called out a greeting, waving.

"Hello Makita-san, Sakura-san. How are you today?" Tsunade-sama said, smiling at the both of us.

"Fine." Both Sakura and I said at the same time.

"Makita-san, I have a mission for you today." Tsunade-sama said.

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. You will be working with Airi Akane." Tsunade-sama told me, with a smile.

"Nice." I grinned back, "But what about my genjutsu training later today?"

"We will work on it later. This mission is more important." Tsunade-sama said.

"Okay. When do I leave?" I asked.

"Soon. Airi has all of the information on the mission." Tsunade-sama informed me.

"Alright, how long will it take?" I asked.

"Not even a day. A few hours at the most. Airi will fill you in when you get to the front gate. You're dismissed."

"Right. I'll see you later." I said.

"Good luck." Sakura said, with a small smile.

"Thanks." I gave Sakura a cheeky grin before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Airi was an ANBU officer and a friend of mine. She was very skilled in genjutsu and ninjutsu, but wasn't the best at taijutsu. I was proud to say I could kick her ass in hand-to-hand combat. Only she kicks my ass whenever she uses genjutsu. I was surprised that she was my partner for a mission. Usually I work alone, but if I had to go on a mission with a partner, my partner was usually another chunin or a jonin, never an ANBU. I wondered if this was a test to see if my skills were advanced enough to become a jonin, or even an ANBU officer. I didn't know, so I guess I would just have to wait and find out. I poofed to my into my apartment, startling my previously sleeping cat, Ai, off of the couch.

'_I wish you would not do that. It's really annoying and I lose precious hours of sleep because of it…'_ Ai glared at me as I read her thoughts.

I let out a light laugh, "I'm sorry, Ai. I have a mission today, but Tsunade-sama said it should only take a few hours."

'_Hm. I do not know why you put up with being a ninja… it's so… strenuous.'_ Ai thought, while leaping back up on the couch and stretching out her tiny, furry, grey body.

'_Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I personally, would never do something that involved such heavy labour and so much training and a lot of work.'_ Ai muttered, sticking her small, pink nose in the air.

"You are so spoiled, you know that?" I sighed, giving Ai a small smile.

'_Well, is that really my fault? You ARE the one who spoils me. And I'm not complaining about it…'_ Ai shot back.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too. I have to get going. I'll be back later. Don't destroy the house while I'm gone." I said as I walked towards the door.

'_Whatever you say. I'm going back to sleep.'_ Ai yawned as she found a comfortable place in a patch of sunlight.

I smiled to myself. Ai was such a bratty cat, but I loved her to death. I found her when I was on a solo spy mission about half a year ago; she had no home and was so adorable. I couldn't help myself. I took her home with me. At the time she was only six months old. Now, she's a healthy one-year-old cat. She's lazy and loves to be pampered, but what can I say? I spoiled the shit out of her.

As soon as I was outside of my apartment complex, I formed a hand sign and poofed to the front gate, where Airi was waiting for me. Airi was wearing a pale green shirt with a yellow flower on it. She was also wearing plain, brown ninja pants and blue ninja sandals. Her long, brown hair was put up in a messy bun, with a few tendrils of hair framing her face nicely. In my opinion, Airi was a gorgeous girl.

"Makita-san" Airi said, greeting me, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry… I got distracted." I said, tucking some hair behind my left ear. "So, what is the point of this mission?"

"Well, we are to take this scroll to squad of Sand ninjas, in a clearing about forty minuets from here if we run at top speed. I was told that the information is very important and that it MUST be delivered to the Suna nins no matter what." Airi explained to me, while twisting her light brown hair around her finger nervously.

"Alright, but why are we meeting them somewhere? Wouldn't it make more sense to just go to Suna?" I asked Airi.

"Yes, but its top secret information. The Hokage doesn't want anyone to know that we gave the information in the scroll to Suna for some reason. I don't know why. It's what I was told to do." Airi said, now fidgeting with the hem of her pale green shirt.

"Fine. Let's get a move on, I promised Ai that I would be home soon." I said, adjusting the straps on my backpack.

"Isn't Ai your cat?" Airi said, giving me an odd look.

"Yeah…" I said.

Airi raised her eyebrow, "O…kay…"

I grinned at her, "Just because she's an animal, doesn't mean that she won't worry about me, or wonder what I'm doing."

"Alright… whatever you say…" Airi gave me a small, genuine smile.

"Let's get a move on." I said.

"Yes, let's. We wouldn't want to keep your cat waiting." Airi said, grinning mischievously.

I stared at her, and then burst out laughing. Sometimes you didn't know what to expect from her. "Right. Let's go." I said, as Airi jumped into a tree and started running, with me following closely behind her.

I liked Airi a lot. She was shy and had anxiety issues, but once she opened up, she was rather funny. She was a strong ninja and a trustworthy ally. Airi was traditional and reserved, but that was what made me like her even more. I think she was only nineteen or twenty years old. She was a short girl, being only five feet tall, but she was fucking strong. She was not someone you would want to underestimate.

_Forty Minuets Later…_

"Alright, they should be somewhere around here…" Airi said, going back into her very nervous persona.

"Huh?" I said. I wasn't really paying attention. There was a cloud above me that looked a lot like Ai… it made me giggle.

Airi started pacing around nervously, "They should be here already… I mean, they knew about this and left way before us so the could get here in time, so I don't know why they wouldn't be h-" Airi suddenly stopped and let out a strangled gasp.

I snapped out of my private thoughts, and looked towards Airi. Airi's dark, chocolate brown eyes had widened and had a terrified look in them. "Airi! What's wrong?" I said, moving so I was standing right beside her.

I looked to where she was looking and bit back a gasp. There were four Suna ninjas, all dead. Their corpses were mangled beyond recognition. The only way one would be able to tell these bodies were once Suna ninjas is the headbands that were strewn in different places. Blood and body parts were everywhere. It was a truly gruesome sight. I took a few steps forward and examined the scene.

"This happened recently. I would say maybe and hour or two ago. Three hours at the most." I said quietly, examining the body that was the most intact (only the legs were blown off), noticing that the lips, fingernails, and toenails were white, the hands were blue in colour, and that the eyes of the person had began to sink into the skull. The skin was also waxy and beginning to purple in colour.

"W-who would do this?" Airi said, shocked that someone would do something like this.

"I have no idea. The best guess would be that it was probably a group of missing nins. They must have been really fucking strong to take out four jonin Suna ninjas. Be on guard, Airi. They might still be around…" I whispered to her.

"Right…" Airi said nervously. I sometimes wondered how Airi was ANBU. She wasn't very forward and wasn't one to take control of a situation.

"I'm going to check the bodies for any indication of who did it. Do you want to check the surrounding area?"

"Yeah. Here," Airi said, throwing the scroll to me, "Keep that safe."

"I will. Be careful." I said. I was worried.

"I will." Airi said, her eyes hardening as she pulled out her katana.

I looked at the bloody mess that surrounded me. I could tell explosives were used. It was odd that I didn't hear anything. We were only about twelve kilometres away from Konoha. With my enhanced hearing skills, I should have heard something. Maybe I didn't hear anything because I wasn't paying attention… fuck. I felt so stupid. I could have possibly prevented the deaths of four innocent sand shinobis, but I didn't. Fuck.

I heard Airi scream to the left of me. My head shot up and I grabbed a couple kunai knives out of my kunai pouch and I ran towards where I heard Airi scream. I burst into another clearing a few feet away from where the bodies of the sand shinobi were and almost gasped at what I saw. My eyes practically popped out of my head. Airi was standing in the clearing, with multiple kunai protruding out of her body. Airi had a large gash on her forehead and her pale green shirt was ripped open, revealing a giant, deep gash in her right side. The gash was so deep; you could see the whiteness of her rib bone.

I looked to where her attacker stood and glared. The person who attacked Airi was a short, rather ugly man wearing a mask over the lower part of his face. The man had what looked like a scorpion tale attached to him somehow and he was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. I hissed in anger when I noticed the cloak. The person who attacked Airi was from the _Akatsuki_.

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**THE AKATSUKI ENTER THE SCENE!!! XD Sorry for the cliffy, but I couldn't help myself. Overall, I'm not happy with this chapter. Anyways…there is a fight planned for next chapter… yeah. Just thought I'd tell you… I hope you enjoyed reading this and I would really appreciate if you would review. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six! Yay! I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to all who have reviewed and alerted my story. And a HUGE thanks to all who favourite my story! Thanks to all who have author alerted and favourited as well. It makes me want to update sooner. ^_^ Sorry it took so long. I had mad writer's block and I went out of town for a week and work is slowly killing me. -.-"**

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I hissed angrily. Akatsuki. This ugly man was one of the same as those two fucking bastards that took my coffin and then left me to die two years ago. I was pissed, but most of all I was worried. I glanced towards Airi. She was the main cause of my worry. Blood was gushing out of her wounds. She was trying her best to stand and hold her ground, but I knew she was going to fall over and/or pass out at any moment. I quickly flashed over to Airi's side, keeping my weapons out and an eye on the Akatsuki asshole.

"Airi, are you alright?" I muttered quickly, watching the member of the Akatsuki closely, making sure that he wouldn't attack.

"F-fine…" Airi gasped, eyes widening as pain surged through her body.

"No. You're not. Go and hide. I'll take care of this. Run. Don't look back." I whispered quietly to her.

"I'm not going to leave you to fight by yourself." Airi hissed.

"Yes. You will. You can't fight in this condition." I snapped back quickly.

"But-" Airi tried to argue, but I cut her off, before she could.

"No. Run. Now." I said quietly and quickly, pushing her away in the general direction of Konoha. And with that, I threw a kunai in the direction of the fucking ugly Akatsuki member and readied myself to fight. I heard the fat, short man thing sigh in annoyance. I growled in response.

"I'm guessing that since the other girl didn't have the scroll, you have it…" The Akatsuki member said in a bored tone.

Shit. They were after whatever was inside the scroll. I wasn't going to willingly give it to them, so I decided to play dumb. "What scroll?" I asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, girl." The short thing growled.

"Actually, asshole, I don't know what you're talking about. Sorry to disappoint" I snapped back.

" Give me the scroll and you won't get hurt." The man-thing said. I could tell I was wearing down his patience. It made me giggle on the inside.

"Fuck that shit. I don't have a 'scroll' with me." I rolled my eyes.

"I think you're lying." He growled in annoyance.

"I really don't know what the hell you're-" I started, trying to lie my way out of this so I could go and check on Airi to make she was getting back okay, but I was cut off by a medium sized explosion to the left of me.

I wasn't paying attention to anything but the fat and short Akatsuki member, so the explosion surprised me. It came out of nowhere. I was thrown to the left by the sheer force of the explosion and I hit a tree. I let out a pained gasp. That hurt like a bitch on Tuesday. I hate trees. I lifted my head up and glared. I felt blood trickle from a wound on my head. I was going to bruise. There was another Akatsuki member. This one was tall and blonde with bangs covering it's left eye. The visible eye was a pretty shade of blue. I couldn't tell if it was a girl of a boy. Oh! I know! It was a transvestite! YAY! My favourite kind of human!

"Sasori no danna, un," The tranny said, in a very deep, masculine voice, which erased my thought of him being completely female (he could still be a transvestite) "Did you get the scroll?"

"Does it look like I have the scroll, brat?" The fat thing snapped.

"Jeez, calm down, Danna, un." The tranny sighed.

Oh. Fuck. I had to get out of here. There was no way in hell that I would be able to fight two Akatsuki members and get out alive. I s\wouldn't even be able to fight one Akatsuki member. The best possible plan? Run like hell and live. Yes. On the count of three I will run, pick up Airi, and go back to Konoha. My eyes darted around, and I took off, in the opposite direction of where I had sent Airi, hoping to distract the two Akatsuki members into following me, so I could then make a clone, loop back, and get Airi. If it came to it, I could just shape shift into a bird, find Airi, and lift her back to Konoha. Fuck. I hoped she was okay. Her injuries were pretty severe. I was scared for her.

I looked back over my shoulder. Nothing. Absolute silence. No birds were chirping, no animals were making any type of noise, and I couldn't hear the two fucktards (A.k.a the two Akatsuki members…) arguing/talking/sexing each other up anymore. I knew I hadn't ran that far away, so it was odd that everything was so quiet. It shouldn't be.

My eyes widened and I stopped running, realization hitting me hard. I wasn't actually going anywhere. I was trapped in a genjutsu. FUCK! I was so goddamn stupid! Now I knew why I was not a jonin or a member of the ANBU. How long had I been in this genjutsu for? Was Airi okay? Where were the two members of the Akatsuki? I shook my head. This was no time to be asking questions and berating myself. I had to get the fuck out of this genjutsu and kick some Akatsuki ass. Well… not really. More like run away in the opposite direction (with Airi, of course) like the devil himself was chasing me.

I formed my hands into a release seal, closed my eyes, and muttered, "Release."

When I opened my eyes, I was disoriented. I tried to get up, but my body felt like it was filled with lead. I felt so heavy and I couldn't move. I couldn't really feel my body either. I was numb. When I finally took notice of what was going on around me, I practically screamed in frustration. Apparently I was in a genjutsu since I entered the clearing where the two Akatsuki members were. Airi was okay. She had a few minor injuries and was fighting the very fat and ugly short man thing. Where was the blonde transvestite? As soon as I finished thinking about where Blondie was, I felt two hands, running up and patting my leg, near my inner thigh. In short, the creepy transvestite was feeling me up. I let out a growl. Blondie looked up at my face and smirked.

"Hey, un. You're finally up. Where's the scroll, un?" It said.

I glared at him, "Why the fuck do you think I have it?"

"Because the other one didn't have it on her." The Blonde said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hn. I'm not giving it to you." I snapped at it.

The blonde's smirk grew even wider. "Then I guess I'll just have to search you for it."

"Ugh. You're a perv." I hissed.

"Whatever, un" The transvestite said.

Heh. Stupid blonde. It wasn't going to find any scroll on me. I left it back in the clearing where the four bodies of the Sand ninjas were. Granted, it was not a very smart idea to leave an obviously important scroll unprotected in the open, but hopefully, the two members of the Akatsuki weren't going to go back there and check. I just really wanted to be able to move my body, so I could proceed to kick some Akatsuki ass. I tried to flex my fingers. I smiled on the inside to myself. I was getting the feeling back into my hands and feet. Feeling was slowly, but surely, returning to my body. I don't think the blonde knew that though. Good.

Then, the tranny picked up my body, and flipped me onto my stomach. I let out a grunt when he dropped me. "What the hell?"

"I have to check if the scroll is in your back pockets. These pants of yours have lots of pockets, un."

"Oh, go fuck yourself." I muttered under my breath.

"I'd rather fuck a woman, un." The blonde leered at me.

"Tch, then go rent yourself a whore, jackass." I hissed at it. The feeling was almost completely back in my body. Oh, I was going to kick some teeth…

I glanced over at Airi. She was fighting well. I shouldn't have doubted her in the genjutsu. Airi was ANBU after all. I had complete feeling back in my body. Oh… I was going to have fun. I looked back over my shoulder at Blondie and grinned at it. It raised its eyebrow at me. Then I flipped/rolled my body around so I was on my back and punched it straight in the jaw.

The blonde went flying and hit a tree. I let out a laugh. Asshole. I was going to hurt it. I stood up and took a fighting stance, readying myself for attack. Blondie got up and spit out a mouthful of blood. It glared at me. I grinned at the transvestite in return. The blonde stuck its hands into a pouch on its side and brought it's hands out. I was confused. I also wasn't going to make the first move. I wanted to see what it would do. This man-woman thing was dangerous.

The blonde smiled at me and then threw two clay birds at me. The birds were amazing. They were so realistic looking. I was wondering why the Akatsuki member was throwing them at me. Then it hit me. In the genjutsu, there was an explosion just before the blonde showed up. Clay birds equalled explosions. Shit.

I jumped quickly to the left to avoid the two birds and hid behind a tree. There was a deafening explosion behind me. I winced. This tranny defiantly was dangerous. It's clay birds were more of a long range attack, so I automatically assumed that this Akatsuki member was a long range fighter, while I, was a close to medium range fighter. To win against him, I would have to engage in a close range fight.

I took a deep breath and took out a six kunai from the kunai pouch. I came out from behind the tree and threw the deadly kunai towards the blonde. Four of the six knives hit the blonde Akatsuki in the chest. I grinned. This was going to be easier than I thought. I ran towards the Akatsuki member, and the transformed myself into a giant (and very, very sharp) shuriken. I sliced through the Blonde's torso, effectively cutting him in half.

I transformed back into my normal self and smiled at my work. Hell, it was a job well done. I looked towards the fallen Akatsuki's body and I felt my eye twitch. There was no blood. It was a clone. A clay clone to be exact. Oh. Shit. I went to move away from the clay clone (I assumed it would explode), but I was grabbed from behind, a kunai placed at my throat, and pulled behind a tree. An explosion rocked the clearing. I could feel the heat, even from behind the tree. I wasn't too happy about my current position. I tried to move, but the person (who I assumed was Blondie) tightened his (Let's just call the tranny a him. It's easier.) grip on my and pressed the kunai harder into my throat, drawing a line of blood.

"Now, un. You're going to either give me the scroll, or tell me where it is, yeah." The Akatsuki threatened.

"I don't have it. I have no idea where it is. Why the hell do you keep asking?" I hissed back at him.

"I think you're lying, un." Blondie said, adding slightly more pressure to the blade at my neck, "And of you tell me where it is maybe I'll let you live, un…"

Heh. Maybe he'll let me live. Translation? He'll kill me as soon as I tell him where the scroll is. To get out of this, major shape shifting would be in order. I just needed to distract him a little first. "Well, to find the scroll, you need to look in Konoha. We didn't actually bring it with us, because I am a psychic, and I saw this coming and then I know what happens next and how you die and who kills you and who you get married to and-" I babbled, trying to both annoy and distract him. It worked.

My body quickly transformed into snake and I fell to the ground. I slithered as far away from the Akatsuki member as I could.

"What the fuck, un!?" I heard the blonde say, surprised that I was no longer in his grasp.

I slithered away and hid under a leafy bush. I had to think about what to do. I had no idea how Airi was doing. The best plan was to get the hell out of here. I transformed back into my normal, human form. I crawled out from under the bush and ran silently towards the clearing. I was farther into the forest than I thought I was.

I stopped and leaned against a tree. I had to plan this out. I had no idea where Blondie was. That was a problem, but not the biggest one. I decided to ignore where Blondie could be and the figured that I was going to shape shift, get the scroll, grab Airi, and run back to Konoha, and not get caught. Wow. My plan was stupid. There were so many loopholes. The sad part was that it was the best possible plan I could see and come up with. Well, I had to give it a shot.

I quickly shifted into a small, red fox. I ran quickly, darting behind trees, bushes, and rocks, trying not to be seen. I had made it to the clearing where the bodies of the four dead sand ninjas were. The scroll was exactly where I left it, meaning that no one had come and moved it or taken it. That also meant that the two Akatsuki members didn't know where the hell the scroll was either.

I shifted back into my normal form and grabbed the scroll. I put it in my weapons pouch, which was located on my left hip. Part three of my plan was next. Get Airi. Sounds easy enough. I ran towards the other clearing where I had last saw Airi and the fat Akatsuki member fighting. I hid behind yet another tree and glanced into the clearing and saw that Airi was still fighting. She had a few more injuries, but she was doing well. I was about to move and interrupt Airi's fight, but I received a kick to my side before I could do anything.

I flew a few feet before hitting a tree. I groaned. That hurt. I could feel warm blood dripping out of a wound on my arm. I ground my teeth together. I glanced up and saw six clay birds flying towards me. Shit. Blondie had found me. I got up quickly and jumped into the nearest tree, trying to get to the highest branch. I looked down, only to notice that the damn clay birds were following me. Oh hell. I was so screwed. I jumped out of the tree and transformed into a bird, flying towards Blondie. I think I confused the clay birds, because I heard them explode behind me. The blonde looked surprised and when I was a few feet away, I transformed from a bird into a tiger, ripping Blondie's cloak and scratching his torso, before I hit the ground.

I rolled when I hit the forest floor and then I transformed back into a human. I stood up and had to block a kick that was aimed directly at my face. I slid backwards a few feet, ripping up the grass beneath me. Blondie came at me again, jumping to punch me, aiming for my face. I gasped and I ducked, rolling under him while he was in the air. I grabbed his left foot and slammed him into a tree. Fuck. I didn't want to fight this guy. If we got into fighting long range, I was so dead.

"Give me the scroll, un. I saw you get it. And don't try to lie to me, un." The blonde said after he stood up.

I glared at him. "I'm not giving it to you."

"Then I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then, un."

The blonde Akatsuki member ran at me again, I braced myself for a hit and prepared to duck, but the Akatsuki member just jumped over me and smacked my back. I lurched forward from the force of it and almost fell over, but caught myself before I fell down. I straightened up and glared at him. "What the hell was that?" I asked.

"You have some of my explosive clay on your back. If you don't give me the scroll, I will blow you up, un." The blonde smirked at me.

My eyes widened, "What?"

"You heard me, un. Give me the scroll, yeah." The blonde said.

Oh shit. I was so screwed. I didn't expect to die so young. I highly doubted that the Akatsuki member would let me live even after I gave him he scroll. I bit my lip. I had no idea what to do. I looked at the blonde, who was watching me closely. Wait… if this scroll were so important, why would he blow the scroll and me up? He'd lose the scroll if he did that… I'd say Blondie was bluffing and trying to fool/scare me into giving him the scroll. It wasn't going to work. It was my turn to fool the asshole.

"Alright. I'll give it to you, but you have to promise not to blow me up or kill me after." I said, walking towards him slowly.

"Good, un. I knew you'd see my side." He smirked at me.

I reached into my weapon's pouch and I pulled out a scroll. The scroll wasn't the one that the Akatsuki members wanted. This scroll had six large shurikens sealed in it. I handed it over to him, watching him intently. The Akatsuki member put the scroll somewhere in his cloak and then the blonde smirked at me, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me closer to him. I panicked and struggled to pull away from him, but his grip on my wrist tightened.

"Just hold still, un." Blondie hissed.

The blonde's other arm reached behind me and pulled something off the back of my shirt. It was a grey lump. His clay. Holy fuck. Blondie really wasn't bluffing when he said he'd blow me up. My eyes widened. It was a huge lump of clay. Blondie smirked when he saw my face and let go of my wrist. I backed away from him, glaring.

"I'll let you live this time, un, but the next time we meet, if ever, you're dead." The Akatsuki member threatened me.

I glared at him, sticking my nose in the air. "Be happy _I_ let _you_ live."

The blonde chuckled "Whatever, un."

I glanced at him and then turned around and shifted into a giant bird. I shot into the air and flew into the clearing Airi was in. She was still fighting, but I could see that she was in pain. That worried me. I dove down and grabbed the straps of her pale green shirt. Airi shrieked as I lifted her up into the air. My thoughts poked around her mind, _'It's okay; it's me, Makita. You're safe, Airi-chan.'_ Airi relaxed and let out a sigh.

"I was so worried about you, Makita-chan. I thought you were killed." Airi said.

'_I was worried about you! I was scared that you were really hurt or that you died. I'm just really glad you're okay.'_ I told Airi.

I was flying as fast as I could and soon I saw the gates of Konoha in the distance. Airi did too. "We're almost there." Airi said.

'_I'll take you to the hospital when we get there. I'll do the mission report.' _I said in Airi's mind.

"Thanks. I don't feel too hot." Airi replied.

I flew over the gates of Konoha and landed softly, putting Airi down gently. I transformed back into my regular form. Airi was pale and sweating. She had begun shaking slightly. My eyes widened. What happened to her? Was she poisoned? "Hey! Help!" I shrieked. Two guards rushed over to us.

"Airi? Are you okay? What happened?" I said, panicking.

"Get me to a hospital please…" Airi whispered.

The guards were now hovering over Airi and me. "What happened?" One guard asked.

"I'm not sure. I think she was poisoned while we were on a mission. Get her to a hospital. Now!" I ordered.

"Alright." One of the guards said as he picked Airi up and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

The other guard who stayed behind, looked at me, and asked, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No. I'm fine. I need to go and do a mission report right now." I said, as I turned around and walked towards the Hokage's office.

I was scared for Airi. I hoped she would be okay. I was really nervous about the Akatsuki. What was so important about the scroll? Why did the Akatsuki want it? I bit my lip. I was kind of nervous about Tsunade-sama's reaction to the news of two of the Akatsuki being in the area. I knew a bit about what the Akatsuki was all about and what they do. I know that they steal the tailed demons that are sealed inside of people. I knew that there was a tailed demon in Konoha, but no one would tell me who it was. I was worried and I was nervous.

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**OH! And since Makita can talk with animals telepathically, she can do the same with people ('humans' XD), but she can't read their minds like she can with animals, she can only put her thoughts in their head to communicate. I won't be able to update for the next two week, because I'm going on vacation, which sadly means, no computer :(. I'll update as soon as I can though! Thanks for reading! Please review! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter seven! Already? Yes! Thank you to all of the reviewers, alerters, and favouriters. Those are probably not really words, but you know, whatever. XD Thanks for reading my story too. Sorry it took so long. I went on vacation and I have to work. OH! And, on a side note, if you are looking for another story to read, I would recommend reading Kirathis-Chan's stories. They're good. Just go to my profile and click on favourite authors. Kirathis-chan is there. And Thanks to Kirathis-chan for thinking up of Airi's last name, Kuroki. ON TO THE STORY

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I sighed. I had been in Tsunade's office for the past hour, going over what had happened with the fight with the Akatsuki members. She had healed the wounds I had received in the fight and went to look at Airi, but now she was back, sitting behind her desk, appraising me. When I asked how Airi was doing, Tsunade just brushed off my question, saying Airi would live. I was expecting and prepared the worst, but it still didn't help my stomach settle. I was scared, no, terrified for Airi. I wanted her to be okay. Airi was like family to me.

I could tell that Tsunade was nervous about the Akatsuki, even though she was trying her best to remain calm. Akatsuki being in the immediate area was bad. The way the new information startled the Hokage made me nervous. I really didn't like how Tsunade was looking at me right now either. I guess she was just trying to see if she missed anything in the numerous questions that she threw at me.

On a side note, it turned out that Naruto didn't come back to Konoha today. As soon as I returned with Airi, Tsunade freaked out and had Shizune send a guy named Jiraya, the 'Toad Sage', who was apparently training this Naruto kid, a message saying to delay coming back to Konoha for another two or three weeks because of the Akatsuki. After me questioning relentlessly about why Naruto couldn't come back yet, Tsunade finally explained to me that Naruto was the host for the nine-tailed demon fox. Go figure.

"Alright, so, again, what did they want?" Tsunade asked again.

"They wanted the scroll, Hokage-sama. I really have no clue why they wanted it. I also don't understand why you keep asking me the same questions, you'll just get the same answers." I said, beginning to get annoyed.

"Alright… so you found the four sand shinobi dead, the Akatsuki killed them, then the Akatsuki members tried to get the scroll from you and Airi, but they failed, and you escaped. That sound about right?" Tsunade asked again.

"Yes…" I sighed, sinking farther into the chair.

"How did you manage to escape them? You're only a chunin and Airi was severely injured… the poison that she had in her system…" Tsunade trailed off, shaking her head.

"Well… I kind of shape shifted in front of them…" I said, and then braced myself.

"YOU WHAT!?" Tsunade screamed at me, slamming her fists onto her desk (successfully breaking her desk in half) and rising out of her chair, knocking it backwards.

"Airi and I would both have died if I didn't shape shift! Do you know how strong only one of them was?! I'm only a fucking chunin, Tsunade-sama! What was I supposed to do? Let them kill me?! Airi is ANBU black ops and she almost died!" I seethed, also rising out of my chair and yelling back at her.

"Do NOT yell back to your superior, Makita! I am the leader of this village, and I specifically told you to NEVER shape shift in front of anyone that you are not going to kill! Do you know what could happen now that the AKATSUKI, of all people, know what you are?!" Tsunade shouted at me.

I clenched my fists together, and as calmly as I could, replied, "Hokage-sama… I realize that I did go against your wishes of not shape shifting, but if I didn't do it, I, as well as Airi, would have died, and the Akatsuki would be in the possession of the scroll that we were supposed to give to the Sand village shinobi."

Tsunade took a deep breath and glared at me, sitting back down behind her now broken desk, "I see your point. It's just that now that the Akatsuki knows about you, others might find out about you. Makita-san… you're special… there are others out there who would want to exploit your powers and use it for evil… I do not want that to happen."

"I see your point as well… and I'm sorry for exploding on you. This just really has me stressed out." I said, forcing myself to bite my tongue from coming back with a sarcastic retort and just apologizing.

"Thank you. I am sorry as well. I'm just worried. The Akatsuki is very powerful and dangerous. I just hope that they don't find you too interesting…"

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_Somewhere in the Shinobi world… In a hidden cave hideout…_

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"Deidara. Sasori. Did you complete your mission and retrieve the scroll?" A man hidden in the shadows asked.

"We finished the mission and we got the scroll, Leader-sama, un." The blonde Akatsuki member said.

"Alright. Give me the scroll." The leader's voice commanded.

Deidara reached into his Akatsuki cloak and pulled out the scroll that the cute red head had given him, after Deidara threatened to blow her sky high. She was so funny, thinking she could defeat him. Ha. It was interesting though… the way she could change into anything, without using much, if any, of her chakra. "Here it is, Pein-sama, yeah." Deidara said, handing the scroll over to his leader.

Pein smiled darkly and opened the scroll. His dark smile instantly faded and turned into a frown. "This is not the scroll that I asked you two to retrieve."

"What do you mean?" Sasori asked in a monotone voice.

There was a loud popping noise and six large shuriken popped out of the scroll. Pein glared at Deidara and Sasori. "You were fooled by this?!"

Deidara and Sasori both stayed quiet. Deidara gulped. He had been the one to get the scroll from the girl. Deidara should have checked the scroll to make sure it was the right one. He shouldn't have underestimated the red head. Now Deidara was going to look like a fool in front of his leader and the rest of the Akatsuki. Deidara was sure he would be punished for his stupidity.

"I guess I underestimated the girl who had the scroll, Pein-sama, hmm." Deidara said, bracing himself for either a verbal lashing or a physical beating.

"You should stop being so cocky Deidara. You will be punished for your idiocy…" Pein said, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, "Tell me more about this girl…"

"Well, she was about… five seven? Maybe five eight," Deidara said, "She had red hair, bangs covering her right eye, yellow eyes, she was thin, she's a pretty cute thing, and she had-"

"I don't need to know what she looked like, Deidara," Pein-sama hissed, instantly silencing Deidara, "Tell me how she managed to escape, her powers, what she did, what her rank is…"

"I don't think she could be more than a chunin, Leader-sama." Sasori spoke.

"Oh?" Pein asked, while sending a deadly glare towards the blonde Akatsuki member.

"When we first arrived, I cast a weak chunin level genjutsu. The red headed girl was caught in it and it took her about fifteen minuets to figure out she was in a genjutsu and release it. There was another girl there… she was not very skilled in taijutsu, but really highly skilled in genjutsu and ninjutsu, she fought well, but in the end, I bested her and poisoned her…"

Pein's glare was so fierce, it could have probably set a village on fire. "Deidara… how was a mere chunin able to defeat you?"

"The girl couldn't have been a chunin! He taijutsu skills were exceptional, Hm. She didn't use any ninjutsu and she was very weak in the genjutsu area, but she seemed to be at a jounin level, possible ANBU in training, yeah. She was able to shift into any animal in a blink of an eye, without using any handsigns. She harldy used any, if any at all, of her chakra. It was ridicuolus, yeah. She was a worthy opponent. Not as strong as me, but she was interesting to fight against, yeah…"

Pein's ears perked up and he turned to Deidara, interested in hearing more information about the red head that had out witted the blonde. "The girl… she had the ability to shift into anything at will without using much chakra?"

"Yeah, hm. It was crazy." Deidara replied.

Pein's dark smile returned. "Interesting… very, very interesting… tell me more about her…"

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_Back in Konoha…_

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I walked out of the Hokage building, slowly rubbing my temples in a circular motion. I was so fucking stressed out. Tsunade told me that now the Akatsuki knew I was a 'shapeshifter', I was in danger of being captured by them. Or by this other sick fuck, Orochimaru, if he found out about me. Apparently, he convinced Sasuke Uchia into joining him or some shit like that… Can you say pedophile? I sure can.

Anyways, on top of that, I was now going into extreme genjutsu training, to make sure if Akatsuki or anyone else came for me, I would not fall for some stupid genjutsu trick. Starting tommorrow, I would now have genjutsu training seven days a week, nine hours a day. Kill me. And on top of genjutsu training, Airi was delusional from the posion and may not ever be able to be a ninja again. She had lost the feeling completely in her left leg and she might lose feeling in her right leg as well, causing her to never walk again.

I needed a drink. Really badly.

I walked down a short cut, a back alley that lead to my apartment complex. Halfway there, I leaned against the wall and slid all the way down until my ass hit the ground. I then proceeded to hit my head, very hard, against the wall. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" I muttered to myself.

I heard footsteps coming towards me and I opened my eyes, while still slamming my skull into the concrete wall. I glared at the figure coming towards me. Ugh. It was Neji. The goddamn, stupid, stick up his ass, Hyuga. I didn't get along with anyone from the Hyuga clan. They were all so stuck up and always acted as if they were better than everyone else. Especially this certain member of the Hyuga family. I hated him almost as much as I hated my old village. Yeah. My hatred was extreme.

"If you keep doing that, you'll lose the rest of your already small collection of brain cells." Neji said in a monotone voice.

I hissed at him and stood up. "Shut the fuck up, asshole."

"I'm merely pointing out a fact." He replied to me.

I glared at him. "Leave me the hell alone. I'm not in the mood to deal with your stupidity right now."

"Fine." He said as he turned around and began to walk away, "I just came to tell you that Lee wanted to see you. He's waiting outside your apartment."

I perked up. "Lee? What's he doing there? Why didn't he just come find me?"

"He didn't want to leave, just in case you came back to your apartment." Neji muttered.

"Awesome!" I said, letting some of my worry seep away. I loved Lee. He was like the hyper active, energetic, weird, little brother I never had.

"He's upstairs, waiting outside your door…" Neji trailed off.

"Mhm. Yeah. You can go away now." I snapped back at Neji. I hated him.

Without waiting for a reply, I ran out of the alley, into my apartment building, up the stairs, down the hallway, and crashed into Lee, giving him a giant hug. "AHHH!! LEE-KUN!" I shrieked.

"MAKITA-CHAN!!!" Lee yelled back, lifting me up into the air and practically squeezing the life out of me.

"Lee… can't… breathe…" I gasped out.

"Heh… sorry, Makita-chan." Lee said as me put me down, hands still resting on my shoulders.

"I've missed you." I said, smiling at him.

"I have missed you as well, my dear Makita-chan!" Lee said back, beaming at me with his brilliantly white teeth.

Besides Sakura and Airi, Lee was my best friend. We did lots of taijutsu training together and we got along great. I loved his energetic personality. It was catchy and addicting. Many people thought we were dating, but we weren't. We were just really close friends. The sad thing is, we hardly ever get to hang out, because I mostly was being trained in genjutsu now and whenever I'm free, Lee has a mission, or whenever Lee is free, I have a mission. Today was rare day when we both had nothing to do.

"Are you alright, Makita-chan? You have blood on your clothes…" Lee said, getting a worried look on his face.

"Oh?" I looked down at my clothing. Lee was right. There was blood on my clothes. I just didn't notice it before. "It's fine. I'm just coming back from a mission."

Lee smiled and I smiled back at him. "I was worried for a moment." Lee said.

"Don't be," I said, "I'm fine. Let me go shower and change, then we can go do something."

"Alright!" Lee saluted to me.

I inserted my key into the lock on my apartment and opened the door and was greeted with a very angry Ai sitting in front of the door. _'And just WHAT took you so long?'_ Ai hissed at me, swishing her tail back and forth angrily.

"Hi Ai…" I said, taking my shoes off and bending down to scratch her fuzzy head.

Ai spit at me and swatted my hand away. _'Do NOT act like I am not angry with you. DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I HAVE BEEN!?' _

"I'll tell you about my mission later, Ai. I have company right now. Lee's here." I said with a look that told her to stop yelling at me.

'_Humph. We will talk about this later. I am not happy with you. Be happy you have the bowl-cut guy here, otherwise…'_ Ai said, letting the threat hang in the air.

I rolled my eyes at her. "You're such a moody cat."

"Do you always talk to your cat, Makita-chan?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. She's my only family. I like to think of her as a person. Animals do have feelings." I explained to Lee.

Lee smiled. "That's sweet! She is such a cute cat!" Lee swooped down on Ai and picked her up, cuddling her.

'ACK! Just what is this large eyebrow freak think he is doing?!' Ai yelled.

I laughed. "I think she likes you, Lee."

Ai glared at me. I could hear the promised threats of ripped up curtain and ruined clothes, but I didn't care. Lee was here and right now, I was happy. I hadn't seen him or had a chance to hang out with him in a long time. "Make yourself at home Lee. I'm going to shower." I called as I walked towards my room.

I entered my room and grabbed an entirely clean set of clothes. I smiled and walked to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stripped out of my dirty and bloody clothes. The water was starting to steam, so I stepped into the shower and let the hot water pound my body clean. I quickly shampooed and then conditioned my red hair and then rinsed off my body. I shut the shower off and stepped out.

I grabbed a fluffy red towel from the towel rack and dried off my body. I put on my undergarments and a pair of black pants with many, many pockets, which had a purple design going down along the side of my left leg. I put on a fishnet top and put a deep purple shirt with black swirls and random squiggles on it on top of the fishnet shirt. I put on my black fingerless gloves and re-tied my ninja headband around my waist. I quickly ran a brush through my wet hair and applied a bit of eyeliner. I looked in the mirror and smiled at myself. I liked my outfit. It was matching. The colours were nice.

I walked out of the bathroom, feeling the heat of the steam leave me. The normal air feeling colder than usual compared to the steam filled bathroom. I walked into the living room, but Lee wasn't there, I raised my eyebrow. "Lee? Where are you?" I called out, but there was no reply.

I walked into the kitchen and noticed a note stuck to my fridge. I paused and then walked over to it, peeling it off the fridge. It was from Lee…

_Dear Makita-chan,_

_I'm sorry, but I had to leave. My team and I had an emergency mission we had to go on immediately. I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. We'll hang out another time! I promise!_

_Love,_

_Lee_

My mood dropped. I sighed and walked back to the living room. I plopped down in the couch and groaned. "There goes my good mood."

Then I felt something land heavily on my chest. I opened one eye. It was Ai. She was glaring at me like there was no tomorrow. "Uh…" I started, but Ai stopped me before I could.

'_Where have you been? What took you so long? Why didn't you come straight home after your mission? What happened? Why did you have blood on your clothes? Who did you fight?'_ Ai said, getting wound up and pacing on my chest while she threw numerous questions at me. I grabbed her and cuddled her in my arms.

"I've been at the Hokage tower, talking about the mission. I had to explain and tell Tsunade-sama all about my mission and then the Hokage and I had a long talk/argument about what happened. I was injured, but Tsunade-sama healed me. I fought a member from the Akatsuki and Airi fought another." I said, petting Ai's furry body.

'_Are you okay? You seem pretty shaken up over this…'_ Ai observed.

"I should be fine. I'm just… nervous, you could say. I shape shifted in front of the Akatsuki and Tsunade-sama said they might find me 'interesting'. On top of that, Airi was injured…" I said, biting my lip.

Ai's eyes widened. _'What? How injured is she? Will she be okay?'_

"I… I really don't know. Tsunade-sama said that Airi will live, but Tsunade-sama isn't sure is she'll be able to be a ninja again…" I said, taking a deep breath, "Airi's in a critical condition right now… I feel like it's my fault."

'_But it's not your fault! Have you gone to see her in the hospital yet?'_ Ai asked, looking at me in a concerned fashion.

"No. I hate hospitals. You know that."

'Still… you should go and see her…' Ai said, nudging me with her pink nose.

"You're right." I muttered, as I stood up and put Ai on the couch. "I'll be back soon."

'_Be safe! Have fun!'_ Ai called as I walked to the door and pulled my black ninja sandals on.

"I fucking hate hospitals…" I grumbled back at Ai.

I walked out of my apartment, locking and shutting the door behind me. I walked out into the streets. It was already late evening, probably around seven o'clock, maybe seven thirty. I had to get to the hospital quickly; last time I checked, visiting hours were over at eight. I jumped onto the roof and ran to the hospital. Ai was right. I had to go and see Airi. That is what a true friend would do.

I made it to the hospital in no time and jumped from the roof and walked through the doors. I stopped at the counter and tapped my fingers restlessly against the white wood. A familiar pink haired girl turned around and smiled at me. "Hello, Makita-chan."

"Sakura-chan." I said back in greeting, "Do you know what room Airi Kuroki is in?"

"Yeah. I'll take you there. She's in ICU," Sakura said, but upon seeing my look of confusion, she corrected herself, "The Intensive Care Unit." Sakura told me as she grabbed a ring of keys off a hook on the wall.

I followed behind her until we reached the third floor. Airi's room number was 321. The door was locked. I raised my eyebrow in confusion and questioning. Sakura caught my look and explained, "Just in case someone decided to come and 'finish the person off' or if they are delusional, like Airi-san is now, we don't want them escaping and possibly hurting themselves and others… It's a precaution."

I rubbed my temples and bit my lip simultaneously. "Okay." I mumbled.

Sakura turned to me and embraced me. I stiffened. I wasn't expecting Sakura-chan to hug me. "She'll be okay, Makita-chan. Don't beat yourself up over this." When Sakura pulled away, she had a worried look on her face. I must have looked sick.

"Alright. Uh… I'll be quick." I told Sakura.

"Okay. There are only twenty minuets of the visiting hours left." The pink haired girl informed me.

"'Kay…" I sighed and entered Airi's room.

Airi was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her hair was fanned out around her head. She was deathly pale and her eyes were glazed over, making her look like she was on the brink of death. She looked like a fragile, breakable, porcelain doll. I walked up slowly to the bedside. "Airi…?" I whispered.

Airi snapped out of her trance and looked over to me. Her expression was blank. There was no life. No signs of the girl I knew. "Who are you?" She asked in a quiet, scared voice.

"It's me, Airi-chan. Makita. Do you remember me?" I asked, getting closer to the bed, until I was able to kneel down and come face to face with Airi.

Recognition sparked in her eyes. "Yes… yes, I remember." Airi said in a breathy voice.

I beamed at her. "That's great! How are you feeling?"

"Tired… not too good… I can't feel my… legs." She mumbled, and I had to lean in to hear what she was saying.

"Airi… I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect you. I should have been there…" I told her, smoothing the sweaty hair away from her face.

Airi grabbed my arm, stopping me from continuing to pet her hair. "I love you." She said seriously.

"Huh? Airi… are you okay?" I asked her in a concerned tone.

"Come closer…" Airi said, pulling me. I tried to back up, but her grip on my arm tightened, cutting off my circulation. Soon we were both face to face, our noses practically touching one another.

I stared into her clouded eyes. Airi let go of my wrists and put both of her hands on the side of my face, pulling me even closer to her own face. Airi stared back into my eyes, seemingly searching for something. "Makita-chan… your eyes… they remind me of golden amber… I love golden amber… it's so… beautiful… like your… eyes…"

"Airi, what are you-" I started, but was cut off by Airi's lips capturing my own lips.

My eyes widened. I was so shocked. Airi was kissing me? What the hell was she doing? What was she thinking? _What the fuck?!_ I tried to pull away, but Airi only held onto my head tighter, pulling me closer. I felt her tongue run across my lower lip. I panicked. This was wrong. I didn't like Airi this way. She was like my sister, for fuck's sake. I sucked in a deep breath of air through my nose and forced Airi's hands away from my head. I forcefully pushed Airi back and pulled away from her, freeing myself from her lips and her grasp. I stared at her. This was not the Airi I knew. What kind of poison did that Akatsuki member use?

"Makita-chan… come back to me… I love you… don't you love me too?" Airi said, sounding like I was ripping her heart out.

"Airi… I love you… but not in a romantic way. I love you like a sister. That's it." I said, still in shock.

"Alright. I understand… Can you give me a hug? I really need one…" Airi said, eyes welling up with tears. This was the Airi I knew. Airi was the girl who loved getting hugged by the people closest to her.

"Airi-chan, I'm sorry…" I said as I walked back to her. I hated seeing her cry.

Airi had her arms spread wide, waiting for me to hug her. I leaned over and was about to embrace Airi, but I felt a sharp pain in my side. I hissed and fell over on the ground. I looked at my side. I could see that there was a handle of a scalpel sticking out of me. I looked up at Airi in shock. She smiled darkly at me.

"Damn it. I missed. I was aiming for your heart…" Airi cackled, "You will never take me alive, you stupid bitch… NEVER!"

"Airi…" I muttered. I was still in shock. Then Tsunade's words came back to me. I remembered Tsunade-sama saying that Airi was delusional and wouldn't be herself, because of the effects/after effects of the poison.

I stood up and held my side and walked to the door. "Wait! Where are you going!? I HAVEN'T KILLED YOU YET!" Airi screamed at me.

I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me. I leaned against the wall and slowly slide down, until I hit the ground with a thump. My side hurt like a bitch and I was angry. Those fucking stupid Akatsuki members just _had_ to come and fuck up my life and Airi's life. Airi wasn't Airi right now. She wasn't the girl I loved and cared about. She was someone else. That scared me. I clenched my fists together, my nails digging into my palms, causing my hands to bleed. I took in deep breaths. I had to calm myself down.

I heard footsteps racing down the hallway. I turned and saw my pink haired friend and two other medical ninjas running towards me as fast as they could. "Makita-chan!" I heard Sakura exclaim, "Are you alright?"

"Just peachy." I muttered sarcastically.

"Etsu-san, Waki-san! Go and restrain the patient!" Sakura barked out orders to the two other medics. "Makita-chan… what happened?"

"Airi… she stabbed me with a scalpel. At first, Airi was acting like she was a different person, she didn't remember me… then I think Airi thought that I was her girlfriend… she kissed me. Then I pushed her away and told her that I don't like her that way, and she started to cry. I felt bad and she asked me for a hug. When I went to hug her, she stabbed me and started threatening to kill me…" I explained to Sakura, putting my hand to my forehead and rubbing it.

"This must be tough for you… Here, let me heal that for you." Sakura said, pulling out the scalpel and covering the wound with green chakra.

I hissed. "Ouch! That hurts like a bitch."

Sakura chuckled. "I would assume it would hurt."

I sighed. "Man, now my shirt is fucking ruined. I really liked this top."

"There," Sakura smiled, "You're all healed."

"Thanks." I looked down. "I'll see you later." I stood up and began to walk away.

"Hey! Makita-chan!" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah?" I turned around and asked.

"If you need to talk about anything…" Sakura started, but I cut her off.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for asking." Then I turned around and walked down the stairs and out of the hospital. I. Fucking. Hate. Hospitals.

I stepped out into the cool nighttime air and breathed in a lung full. The palms of my hands hurt. I looked at them. I could see the faint outline of ten; bloody nail impressions in my hands. Dried blood had dried onto my hands, making my palms itchy. I shook my head. I was stressed out even more now. Airi was sick. I wasn't sure if she would ever be the same again.

I really, _really _needed a drink now.

* * *

I walked down the streets of Konoha, trying to find a bar. I spotted one a few buildings ahead of me. I shifted into an older lady, one who looked about fifty years old. Just to make sure that I wouldn't get ID-ed or caught. I walked up to the bar and smiled at the bartender behind the counter.

"Four bottles of sake please." I requested.

"Coming right up, lady." The bartender said.

I leaned against the counter and waited patiently, tapping my fingers lightly against the counter. The bartender came back and handed me the four bottles. The bottles of sake were huge. "Thanks." I said, flashing the bartender a smile and handing him the money for the alcohol.

I left the bar quickly and shifted back into my normal, younger form. I opened the first bottle of sake and chugged it. I cringed at the bitter, strong taste. I finished it about five minuets, so I just threw it on the side of the road, shattering the bottle into a million pieces. I walked to a park that was in the area. I had already started drinking my second bottle. I soon finished that one and threw it at a tree. The sound of a shattering bottle was music to my ears.

The effects of alcohol had quickly begun to take effect on my system. My vision was beginning to blur and I couldn't walk in a straight line. I was feeling happy and light. Like I was on a cloud and had not a care in the world. The stress was gone, completely alleviated from my system. I didn't care of anything. Nothing could hurt me right now. I was happy. I was truly and completely happy. I giggled. This was so great.

I opened my third bottle and quickly drank it. I tried to open the fourth bottle, but it was much harder than I thought it would be. I tried to grip the bottle tighter, but I ended up breaking the top of it. The glass sharply bit into my palms, but I didn't feel a thing. I cleaned off the bottle as much as I could, to make sure I didn't drink or eat any of the glass, and then drank half of the bottle.

I felt a warm liquid cascade down my chin, staining my purple shirt a very dark shade of crimson. I realized that I had cut my lip open on the broken bottle while I was drinking from it. I looked at the bottle. It was really fuzzy, but I could see red covering it. My blood. Heh. That was kind of funny. I giggled some more. I saw a bench in the distance. I walked towards it, but it was a lot closer than I thought it would be. I ran into the cement bench, scraping my shins and making them bleed. I clumsily turned around and tripped over nothing, falling onto the bench. I ended up spilling half of what was left in the sake bottle all over the front of my shirt and winding myself. All of the air that was in my lungs escaped and I started gasping to refill all of the air that I had lost. I refilled my lungs numerous times, taking in air like I had just been saved from drowning. I gasped the air until I felt that my breathing was back to normal.

I lay on the bench and looked up at the stars. They were all fuzzy and seemed to blend together, like the universe was one and I was a part of it, big and expansive. I felt as if I was huge and blended in with everything and everyone. There were no worries and I was not important. I felt whole. I felt complete. My hand that was holding the bottle of sake went limp and the bottle crashed to the ground. I laughed out loud. This stuff worked well. The reasons why I was stressed out were all behind me now. I couldn't even remember why I was so stressed or worried or angry or tired. I didn't care about them. I didn't care about anything.

I ran my hand against the bench, feeling the rough texture of the cement. I giggle some more and rolled off the bench, smashing my body and hitting my head against the ground. I laughed at the pain. Nothing could hurt me. I was invincible. I tried to stand up, but my body was so heavy. It just kept me down. I giggled. I couldn't lift myself up, so I rolled. And I rolled. And I rolled some more. I rolled until I hit a tree. I couldn't get up to move around the tree, and at the moment, I couldn't convince the tree to move itself. I was stuck.

I laughed. I laughed so hard, I couldn't breathe. I gasped in air. I was dizzy and my head felt like there were fireworks going off inside. I could feel the beginnings of nausea. I felt like shit, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything at the moment. I was free! Free as a bird! Free as a cloud! I hiccupped and the nausea became worse. Never mind, I felt like shit. I groaned and tried to get up, but I was so drunk, I still couldn't lift myself up. I let out a small giggle. I hated life. I heard footsteps coming towards me and I flopped my head to look to where the footsteps were coming from. My vision was incredibly blurry. The person was tall… that's all I could distinguish in my drunken state.

"Makita-san…?" I heard someone ask, as if they were questioning themselves instead of me, "What are you doing?"

I giggled. "I don't know… the tree roots are tickling me!"

"Makita-san… are you drunk?" I heard the person say. The person's voice was deep, so I assumed it was a man… or a manly transvestite…

"What's drunk?" I slurred, eyes going in and out of focus.

"Not sober." The man replied.

"I have… NO idea what YOU… are… talking about…" I mumbled, letting my head droop back so I was staring at the stars.

"Makita-san… get up…" The person commanded me.

"NEVER!!!" I cackled, curling up into a ball.

"Makita-san…" The man said. Heh. I was wearing down his patience.

"FINE!" I slurred again, "You're a penis face!" I shrieked, uncurling myself from my ball like form and trying to lift my body up. It felt like I had a ton of bricks on me. I couldn't get up at all.

"Can you get up Makita-san?" The person asked, kneeling down beside me.

"Nope, I weigh too much. I. !" I slurred, and then ended my sentence in a fit of giggles.

I heard the man sigh and then he picked me up bridal style. "I'll take you back to your apartment. You of all people should know that being outside in the open like this is dangerous. Especially when you're like this. It's past curfew as well. Makita-san, I thought you were trained better. And alcohol? Where the hell did you get it? How much did you drink?"

I looked at the man's face closer. I could see the mask covering the lower half of his face and one of his eyes. Up close, I noticed his tall, silver hair. It was Kakashi! I should have known. Only he would lecture me like this. "Kakashi-chan!" I giggled.

"Yes?" Kakashi sighed.

"You're sexy." I said, leaning my own face closer to his.

"What?" Kakashi's eyes looked at me if I were the strangest thing on the planet.

"What does you face look like?" I asked out of the blue, my eyes wide.

"Huh?" Kakashi asked, caught off guard by my question.

"Under your mask! I bet you are part fish. And I bet you're ugly. OH! AND I bet you're probably half cow/beaver… Heh. Good think I like animals. We could make pretty babies together!" I slurred drunkenly.

"Makita-san… stop talking like that." Kakashi said, expression becoming stony.

"Heh… I don't feel so good." I moaned.

"If you're going to vomit, warn me. I don't want to get it all over my-" Kakashi was cut off by me throwing up over one of his arms that was wrapped around me, the contents of my stomach getting on his pants and on his shoes. "…Clothes…" Kakashi finished.

I looked at him and blinked. Kakashi looked back at me and blinked as well. I burst into a fit of giggles. Kakashi sighed and kept walking. My vision was blurring. I could see black spots floating in and out of my vision. I groaned and put my hand to my head. I could tell that I was going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. My vision started to go black and I was fading in and out. For a minuet, I felt as if I was asleep, completely blacked out, and the next minuet, I was aware of my surroundings.

There was a poof and I was in my apartment, I could hear Kakashi saying something, although I didn't really catch it all, "…alcohol… Tsunade-sama's going to be… not my problem… needs to sleep it off…"

I could faintly hear Ai, in the corner of my mind, berating me for my stupidity, but I didn't care. I felt Kakashi drop me and I landed on a very soft surface, my bed, I assumed. I felt a blanket get thrown on me. I cuddled into the blanket, wrapping it around myself, and I was out, off to dream land.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. I moaned. The light, even behind my eyelids, was so bright. I cracked open one eye and winced. It was much brighter than I expected. It hurt so badly. I looked at my alarm clock… it was four in the afternoon. I shut my eyes and put the blanket over my head. The pain…

I had the sudden urge to vomit, so I hopped out of bed, ignoring my pounding headache, and ran to the bathroom. I threw open the bathroom door and leaned over the toilet. My empty stomach heaved and bile came out of my throat and into the toilet. My throat was burning and I had a nasty taste in my mouth. I stood up a looked at myself in the mirror.

Holy. Shit.

I had dried blood crusted to my face and my lip was split open. My shirt was covered in my own blood and my pants were ripped in the shin area, showing dried blood and scrapes on my shins. I had a few large pieces of sharp, clear glass stuck into my palms. I had no memory of what had happened to me or what I did or what I said or who brought me home or anything that happened last night when I was drunk. The only thing that I knew was that I had gotten drunk. I must have drunk a hell of a lot of alcohol to not remember anything. How was I able to get alcohol? I didn't even remember that. I groaned and sat down on the cold bathroom tile. I was stupid.

'_You are an idiot.'_ Ai said, walking into the bathroom, confirming my thoughts of me being an idiot, and sitting beside me.

"Shut up…" I groaned, putting my head into my hands.

'_It's your fault for going and getting yourself drunk. Kakashi was worried that you had alcohol poisoning, so he got Sakura to come over last night and check you out, to make sure you wouldn't die. You were fine, though. No alcohol poisoning.'_ Ai informed me.

"What?" I asked, surprised that Sakura and Kakashi were in my apartment last night. I didn't remember anything.

'_Yes… Kakashi found you in a park, piss ass drunk, brought you home, and then he called Sakura. Sakura came over immediately, to check you for alcohol poisoning. You didn't have alcohol poisoning and Sakura was going to heal you, but both of them didn't want to wake you up. You were out cold. They only saw your lip… which in the dark, didn't look as bad as it does in the light… they didn't see your hands or your palms, or your shins…' _Ai explained.

"Oh fuck me. And I slept through it all?" I muttered.

'_Yes… Makita-chan… why do you have to be so stupid?'_ Ai asked me, rubbing against my leg.

"Shut. Up." I snapped at Ai. I was not in the mood to deal with this right now.

'_Are you going to call Sakura over so she can heal your injuries?'_ Ai asked me.

"I'm not leaving the fucking house," I mumbled, "You go get her."

'Fine. I'll be back in few minuets.' Ai said, sticking her nose in the air and walking out of the bathroom.

I groaned and curled up into a ball on my bathroom floor. I felt sick. A wave of nausea washed over me again and I leaned over the toilet, my body trying to empty my already empty stomach. My body heaved. I coughed and tears of pain ran down my face. I wiped them away quickly and curled up into a ball again. I grabbed a towel from the towel rack near me and curled up with it. I was cold. On top of that, my clothes were all bloody and dirty.

I heard the door open and footsteps rush quickly to my room, "Makita-chan?!" I heard a female voice cry out.

"I'm in here…" I croaked.

The footsteps quickly came to the bathroom and I was met by a glare from my green eyed, pink haired, medic friend. "You are an idiot," Sakura said, "I was worried when Ai came and found me. I thought something really bad had happened to you… I'm glad you're all right though, but you look so pathetic right now. Why would you go and do something so stupid?"

"Why do you have to be so loud?" I winced. The light, the sound, _everything_ made my body hurt. " I was stressed and I needed an escape…"

Sakura paused and her glare became worse. "Still, you're an idiot. That's not a healthy way to get an escape."

"Can you just heal me?" I muttered.

"Fine." Sakura said. I could tell that Sakura was pissed off at me. Her hand became green with healing chakra. She placed her hand over my lip and my shins. Then she grabbed a pair of tweezers that were on my counter and ripped the glass out of my palms, not being gentle at all. I winced. Then Sakura put her hands over my own hands and healed them. Soon, I was all healed up, although I still had a killer headache and the light still burned my eyes.

"Thanks… can you get rid of the hangover at all?" I asked Sakura.

"No. It was your mistake to go out and get drunk, so you have to live with the consequences. Go and sleep the hangover off. Drink lots of water. I'll go and inform Tsunade-sama that you're ill and won't be able to do your genjutsu training until later in the week…" Sakura said, standing up and walking to the bathroom door.

"Ugh. Fine." I muttered, glaring at her.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! It was your fault for going out and getting drunk." Sakura said.

"Whatever. See you later." I said, waving her away with my hand.

Sakura sighed and left. I heard her walk down the hallway and out the door. I groaned and lifted myself up. I walked to the shower and turned it on. I needed to clean my blood-covered body. I hated feeling dirty and I hated the smell of blood. I clumsily stripped out of my clothes and threw them on a pile on the floor. I stepped into the steaming water and grabbed a bar of soap and washed the blood away. The water turned a light pinkish colour from the blood and ran down the drain. I felt too sick to wash and condition my hair, so I decided to just wash my body.

I turned the water off and stumbled out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself. I walked to my kitchen and grabbed a glass and filled it to the top with water. I chugged it. Apparently I was thirsty. I put the glass down and walked to my bedroom. I suddenly felt very tired. I didn't bother drying my hair or putting clothes on. I kept myself wrapped in the towel and snuggled under the covers on my bed. Within seconds of my head hitting the pillow, I was out cold.

* * *

**WEO! End chapter. I hoped you liked it! Thanks for reading! Review please!**** Also, check out **_**Kirathis-chan**_**, she's an awesome writer! Well… for pairings, I have narrowed it down to Hidan or Itachi… feedback on which you would like to see Makita paired with would be excellent!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight! YAY! Thanks to all the reviews, alerts, and favourites I got! It means a lot! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

I was running. I was running, no, sprinting, as fast as my legs could carry me. I was scared. _They _were after me. I was tired and my legs and my lungs screamed at me in pain. My body felt like it was on fire. It hurt so much, but I had to keep running. The Akatsuki were after me. The two members that were after me were strong. It was two against one. I was losing badly. One of the members had already cut off my right arm. Blood was streaming out of my stump. I was in a lot of pain and I was scared. They wanted to take me back to their 'leader', alive or dead. It didn't matter.

A whole bunch of kunai came flying towards me. I jumped into the trees to avoid them and kept running, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. I looked behind me. The Akatsuki members were only a few feet away. I gulped and looked forward, but I hit a tree because I wasn't watching. My body suddenly shut down. I was unable to save myself from falling out of the damn tree and smashing my body into the cold, hard ground. I curled up into a ball, gasping for air. As soon as I regained some of my breath, I moved into a kneeling position as fast as I could, ready to flee if I had to. I heard footsteps walk towards me calmly and I looked up. Two Akatsuki cloaks met my eyes. My eyes travelled upwards, taking everything about the Akatsuki members in. They were both tall and hats covered their entire head, making it impossible to see their faces or identify them. I looked up at the two very dangerous men, panic clearly written all over my face.

"You're so much of a hassle…" One of the Akatsuki members spoke in a deep, calm voice.

"I think you will be better dead than alive." The other member with a scratchy, rough voice said.

I looked at them with wide eyes. "Goodbye." The first one said, as he aimed a katana to go directly through my throat.

"NO!" I shrieked. Before I could move or get out of the way or do anything, the katana pierced my through my throat. I tried to speak, but all that came out was pathetic gurgles. Bubbles of blood formed in my mouth as I tried in vain to speak. It hurt so much. I coughed and my warm blood dripped down my chin and onto my white shirt, staining it a very bright shade of red, the colour of fresh blood. I was losing strength fast. I felt dizzy. I felt nauseous. I could feel the very life leaving my body. I was slowly fading. I was losing so much blood. I let out a sad, choked sob. I didn't want to die. I had hardly lived. The world around me seemed to be spinning. I couldn't stay kneeling on my knees. It was too hard. I fell over and my head hit the ground. I blacked out. I was dead. Gone forever.

* * *

"Alright, alright! That's enough training for one day. Makita-san… you need to focus!" Kurenai told me, standing above me and shaking her head. "Your training is going no where!"

I groaned and sat up. "That was ridiculously difficult! Why did you have to use such an advanced genjutsu?"

"Makita-san… it was a jounin level genjutsu… and really, it wasn't that difficult…"

"DAMN IT!" I yelled in frustration, "I'm never going to get this."

"You just have to concentrate and think about what's going on. Before I cast the genjutsu, you were running through a forest in Konoha… would the Akatsuki really be there without being detected or having other ninjas after them…?" Kurenai asked.

"Ugh… no… but it's just so hard! It's like my mind is being raped. I don't like it." I muttered.

Kurenai sighed. "You jut have to focus. If you don't you'll never be anything more powerful than a chunin."

I looked down and said. "I know… it's just… I can't concentrate on it. I hate genjutsu."

"Would you like to try once more?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah. I need to get this under my belt." I said, rubbing my forehead.

"All right. Ready?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes. Just do it." I said.

Kurenai and I stood their, staring at each other. I raised my eyebrow at her and she raised one back at me. "I'm not going to do it now, with you watching. Try and run away or something…"

"Ugh. Fine." I rolled my eyes and ran into the forest.

I jumped into the trees and and ran in a random direction. I knew that the genjutsu would kick in quickly, so I wasn't going to let my guard down. I looked to my left and then to my right, looknig for anything out of place. Sadly, I failed to look ahead of me and I tripped over a stray, out of place tree branch. I fell out of the tree, but luckily, I wasn't that high up off the ground. I landed on all fours and stood up, acting like I never actually fell out of a tree.

"Hey, Makita-chan!" I heard a voice yell.

I turned towards the sound and smiled. It was Kiba! "Hey, Kiba-kun! How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking. You?" Kiba grinned.

"Eh, alright. Just doing some training with Kurenai-sama." I said with a smile.

"Really? Sweet, I'm going to meet her. I have training with her in about thirty minutes." Kiba told me.

"Hey, where's Akamaru?" I asked Kiba. Akamaru and Kiba were hardly ever apart from each other.

"He's sick today." Kiba said.

"Oh, really? That sucks. I hope he gets better." I replied back.

"Yeah, me too." Kiba said, looking down at his feet.

"So…" I said, not really having anything to say.

"Hey, Makita-chan… I have a question…" Kiba started.

"Okay, shoot." I looked at him, only to see that he was nervous. I raised my eyebrow.

"Would you go out with me?" Kiba stuttered nervously.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Kiba asked, confidence returning to his tone.

"Uhm… I'm not sure…" I started.

"Please? I've liked you for a really long time…" Kiba pleaded, not wanting to get rejected.

"I… this is really sudden…" I said. I liked Kiba. He was a great friend, but I didn't want to date him. Reason being that he was sixteen and I was one hundred and seventy one (twenty one in human years). The age difference is rather large, don't you think? I personally think so.

Kiba let out a frustrated huff and walked towards me with a confiden smile on his face. He then grabbed my arms and kissed me softly and gently. Kiba pulled away and looked at me, to gauge my reaction. "So are you gonna go out with me or not?" He asked, smirking.

I stood there. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say or what to do. The Kiba I knew would never actually do this. I knew Kiba didn't have any romantic interest in me. We were just friends. On top of that, Akamaru was _always_ with Kiba. If Akamaru was sick, I highly doubt that Kiba would even leave Akamaru's side, let alone go and train without his beloved dog. I paused, thinking things over in my head. Then it hit me. I got it! I was in the genjutsu that Kurenai had cast. Damn, she's good. I stepped away from Kiba and closed my eyes, concentrating. I formed the correct hand seal and muttered, "Release!"

I opened my eyes, seeing that I was still in the clearing with Kurenai standing in front of me, while I was sitting on the ground. I beamed at her. "I did it!"

"Congrats, Makita-san." Kurenai said with a smile.

"AH! Finally!" I yelled, grinning from ear to ear. I was proud of myself. I was so tired.

"I'm really proud of you." Kurenai said.

"Thanks… I jus have a question…" I said.

"Okay. What is it?" Kurenai asked me.

"What was up with the genjutsu? I mean, what Kiba did…" I questioned.

Kurenai just smiled at me and said, "Nothing…" By the tone of voice she used, I could tell that it wasn't 'nothing'.

"All right… if you say so…" I said, not believing my sensei.

"Anyways, You did a good job. It was only a chunin level genjusu, but you've still improved. We'll continue more training tomorrow. You need a break. Try read some books on genjutsu. It might make it easier and you might be able to progress farther if you study." Kurenai told me, offering her hand to me. I took it and she helped me up.

I shook my head and brushed the dirt from my clothing. "Yeah, yeah. I'll try. I'll see you la-" I was cut off my a giant dog tackling me to the ground. I landed with an 'oomph'.

"Hey! Akamaru! Get off her!" I heard real Kiba yell.

Akamaru looked at me and licked my face before rolling off of me. I giggled and scratched him behind his ears. "Hey Akamaru. How're you today?" Akamaru barked in response.

I loved that dog. He was such a sweetie. Akamaru's owner was really nice too. Not to mention, pretty cute. I liked Kiba a lot. He not only had a great respect for dogs, but animals in general, which scored nicely on my mental tabs of likes and dislikes. We go along pretty well most of the time, only arguing when I brought up the fact that even though I really liked dogs, I really loved cats and the rest of the feline family as well. Other than that, Kiba and I almost always got along. He was always nice to me and I to him. We were friends.

"Hey Makita-chan." Kiba said as he ran up to me, smiling.

I got up and dusted my self off again, smiling back at Kiba. "Hello, Kiba-kun. How are you today?"

"I'm pretty good. You?" Kiba replied.

"Uh… alright… just finished some genjutsu training with Kurenai-sama." I said.

"Ah… genjutsu… how'd that go?" Kiba asked, already knowing the answer.

"My mind got raped. Really badly…" I muttered.

"Any progress?" Kiba asked me.

"Yeah! I did break out of one genjutsu, the last one we did!" I stated proudly.

"She just has to work on he concentration and focus more on what's happening, isn't that right, kiddo?" Kurenai said, coming up behind me and messing up my hair. I swatted her hand away. I easily had one hundred and fifty years on her. I hated when people treated me like a kid. "Anyways," Kurenai continued, "Where are Shino and Hinata?"

"I don't know. They should be here soon." Kiba replied.

"Alright. Sounds good. Makita-san, would you like to stay for training with us?" Kurenai asked, turning to me.

"Uh…" I didn't really want to stay for training. I had already done a hell of a lot of genjutsu training and I was already really tired, even though I was trying really hard not to show it. I liked Kiba and Kurenai and Shino. They were all right, but Hinata was on Kurenai's team. I didn't like Hinata. At all. She was too shy, she stuttered all the time, she acted like I was a big and scary monster, she never made eye contact with people, she was always playing with her hair or fiddling with her hands and fingers, she always seemed nervous, she had no spine of her own, she was really jumpy, she fainted too much, and on top of all that, she was a Hyuga. Shut up. I hate the Hyuga clan. But at the same time, I didn't want to be rude to the rest of the team. Going against my best judgement, I said, "Sure… What are we doing today?"

"Excellent! We will be doing some sparring. I'll be watching, now that we have an even number." Kurenai said.

"Great…" I said, looking up at the clouds. I was hoping that I would get to fight Hinata. Then I could kick her ass.

"I call fighting Makita-chan!" Kiba yelled and Akamaru barked after him. Damn. I looked over to where Kiba's voice and Akamaru's bark came from. I blinked. Shino and Hinata were already there.

"What?" I called, pretending that I didn't hear Kiba and walking towards the group.

"I'm going to be fighting you!" Kiba said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "What ever you say Kiba-kun," I said, then turning to Shino, "Hello Shino-san!" I greeted cheerfully, "Hinata-san." I mumbled after in a monotonous and unhappy greeting.

"Hello Makita-san. How are you today?" Shino asked in his normal, quiet, monotone voice. I liked Shino and all, mainly for the same reason I really liked Kiba. He worked with animals and had a great respect for insects as well as all the other animals in the animal kingdom. The only problem was that he was so quiet all the time. It was hard to have a conversation that went anywhere with Shino. We weren't really friends… we were much more like acquaintances, but I liked him none the less.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. And yourself?" I replied to Shino, then asking him the same question.

"I'm good." Shino replied, looking off into the distance at a patch of trees.

"A-a-a-a-and h-how are y-y-you t-today, M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-Makita-san…?" I heard Hinata stutter behind me.

I stiffened. I loathed Hinata. She was another stupid Hyuga brat. "I'm fine." I said stiffly. I'm pretty sure everyone who saw me talk to Hinata could tell I didn't like her, although no one ever mentioned it to me. "And how are you?" I asked just to be somewhat polite and not completely hostile.

"F-f-f-f-f-fine. T-t-thank y-you f-for a-a-asking…" Hinata said, poking her two pointer fingers together nervously.

I let out a long sigh. I didn't want to be here. I don't know why I agreed to. "How about Hinata-chan and Makita-san fight and Kiba-kun and Shino-kun fight?" Kurenai announced out of the blue.

I raised my eyebrow, "I like that idea." I said, giving Hinata the most evil smile I could muster. I could see her gulp nervously.

"Alright!" Kurenai said, clapping her hands together, "Hinata-chan, Makita-san, you're up first!"

My day was turning out perfectly today. Genjutsu training sucked, but I was slowly getting the hang of it. Sparring and getting to kick the shit out of Hinata was going to make my day. I walked towards one end of the training ground and Hinata went to the other. We both got into fighting stance. "Wait!" I heard Kurenai call. I turned to look at her and raised my eyebrow. Shikimaru was there, saying something to Kurenai. "Makita-san, come here."

I sighed and walked towards Kurenai and Shikimaru. "Yes?" I asked.

"Shikimaru-san said that you were needed in the Hokage's office." Kurenai said.

I raised my eyebrow, "What for?" I asked.

"We'll talk about it on the way there." Shikimaru answered, as he turned around and began to walk away.

"Alright. I'll train with your team another day, okay, Kurenai-sama?" I said, smiling.

"Yes. Sounds good. See you tomorrow for more genjutsu training." Kurenai said, messing up my hair again.

I rolled my eyes at her and said, "Ugh… alright. See you! Bye Kiba, Shino! …Hinata…"

I turned around and ran to catch up with Skikimaru. I caught up to him quickly and began walking beside Shikimaru. "So, what did Tsunade want to talk to me about…?"

"She didn't say. She just told me to come and get you." Shikimaru said in a bored voice.

I sighed. This was annoying. I wondered if I was going to get punished for when I got drunk three days ago… I hoped not. I'd be screwed. I couldn't remember anything about that anyways. "So… Shikimaru-san… how's Chouji-san? Ino-san?"

"They're both fine Makita-san." Shikimaru yawned.

I wasn't really close or friends with Chouji or Ino, but I thought it would be the polite thing to ask Shikimaru how they were doing. Apparently, Ino saw me as another 'rival', because I was a really close friend with Sakura, which made Ino kind of hate me. I didn't really care. Her not being my friend was her loss. Chouji and I weren't really friends because I never really got the chance to get to know him. The only reason I knew Shikimaru and was somewhat friends with him was because Tsunade asked him to help in teaching me about strategy and tactical planning during my training to become a chunin. Shikimaru was a nice guy. Sure, he was lazy and thought everything was troublesome, but he was an excellent conversationalist and extremely intelligent. So all in all, I liked him and considered him as a friend.

"And how are you?" I asked.

"I'm alright. This is so troublesome. I could be sleeping right now. Maybe playing shoji… or just relaxing…"

I snorted. "You're a very predicable person, Shikimaru-san."

"Not really…" He sighed and I laughed. Shikimaru looked at me strangely and kept walking. I knew that Shikimaru was anything but predictable. With that intelligent mind of his, who knows what he could come up with?

Soon, we made it to the Hokage tower. "Well, this is where I leave you. I have other things to attend to. I'll see you later Makita-san."

"Alright. Bye Shikimaru-san." I said with a smile and a small wave.

I walked into the building and told the lady behind the reception desk that I was here to see the Hokage. The lady sent me right up. I walked slowly, not really wanting to see what Tsunade wanted to see me for. I personally didn't really want to face any consequences; at least, that was what I assumed I was here for. I sighed when I made it to the door. I hesitated, wondering if I could make a run for it, but decided against it. I knocked slowly. As soon as I knocked, I heard the voice of the Hokage telling me to enter. I opened the door and prepared for the worst.

"Makita-san," Tsunade said in greeting, "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm alright… a little tired from genjutsu training, but otherwise fine. And yourself?"

"I am fine, thank you for asking," Tsunade said, "Well, I bet you're wondering why I've called you here."

"Uh… yeah. Kind of…" I replied.

"I called you here regarding your… behaviour and choices from a few days ago…" Tsunade said.

I groaned in response. "I know. What I did was wrong and I'm sorry."

"How did you even manage to get the alcohol?" Tsunade questioned.

Oh. Shit. I knew how I got it. I remembered after I thought about it for a while. I shape shifted into an older lady and bought the four bottles of sake. Well, Tsunade didn't need to know that… "I don't know. I got so drunk and I blacked out and don't really remember anything that I said or did…" I explained.

"I see… well, I talked to Kakashi and Sakura about your behaviour and condition while you were drunk and how you were after you were drunk, health wise… it was unacceptable. You should know better. I have thought up a suitable consequence…" Tsunade said, but I interrupted her before she could finish speaking.

"A punishment? Really? That is so stupid! No one got hurt!"

"You got hurt Makita. And on op of that, you are underage. You were also out past curfew and insulted your higher up. You do deserve a consequence. No more arguing with me on this, or else I will think up another punishment, on top of the punishment I have already picked out for you." Tsunade threatened.

I sighed. I wasn't underage, for fuck's sake. I was three times older then Tsunade herself. I just didn't want to point out that fact because, one, I was 'supposed' to be only seventeen years old, and two, I didn't want to upset Tsunade and make her freak out on me. Last time she had a full on freak out while I was in the room was not pretty. "Fine. What is my punishment?"

"You will have a mission…" Tsunade started. "You won't get paid for this assignment. You'll be doing it for free."

"Okay… what's my mission?" I asked. So far, my punishment didn't sound that bad.

"You will be babysitting for the Miyagi family. Rika and Takumi want to go out this evening and they need a babysitter… for all three of their kids." Tsunade informed me.

My mouth fell open. "WHAT!?"

"You heard me Makita-san. This is your punishment. Don't complain about it. You got yourself into this…"

I had heard stories of the Miyagi family. The parents of the kids could never find a babysitter that was willing to look after the kids, so they hired ninjas to look after the little demons. I never had to baby-sit them before, but from what I heard from other ninjas, usually genin, but occasionally chunin, who had to watch the satanic spawns, it was not easy or fun in any way, shape, or form. Apparently, the three kids always ganged up on their 'sitter' (Or as I would put it, their 'keeper'), and did horrible things, but the always got away with it because they look 'so innocent and cute'. From what I heard, the children were, to put it nicely, pure evil.

Not to mention that fact that I HATE kids. I hate everything about them, the way the whine, the way they talk, the way they walk, the way they act like they know everything, the way that they are so clueless, the way they ask for something and expect to get it right away, the way they act so needy all the time, the way they can't take care of themselves, the way that they don't act responsible or take the blame for their actions, the way they think you're automatically friends with each other just because you said hello, and especially the way stupid kids are always so damn clingy. I loathe children and being around them. This mission was going to be pure hell. I hated Tsunade right now. I hated her a lot. She knew that I didn't like kids. Damn her.

"Do I have to baby-sit kids? Can't I do something else? Please!? I'll do anything! You name it and it's done!" I asked, my tone of voice pathetic, trying to get my way out of being around kids for an extended amount of time. I knew I was begging. Tsunade knew I was begging. I never begged unless it was something really bad. I bet I pleased the damn Hokage to know that I was in such a foul mood because of her 'punishment'.

"Yes you have to baby-sit the kids. Makita-san, don't whine and complain about this. How old are you? Six?" The Hokage asked, raising a single eyebrow at me.

I glared at her and then let out a defeated huff, "Fine, I'll do it, but I'm not going to be happy about it."

Tsunade snorted, "Look here girl, you weren't given the choice of if you wanted to do it or not. You're doing it because I said so, this is your punishment for being stupid and getting yourself drunk."

"Fine," I said testily, "What is the information about my 'mission'? How long will it take? What are the kids like? Kid's names?" The Hokage was really wearing down on my already thin and fraying nerves, but I knew I shouldn't snap at her and just leave. Tsunade gave me a lot. Tsunade gave me a second chance at life. It was hard to respect her all the time and be polite to her though, because she's such stubborn ass.

She smiled a victorious smile; "I knew you'd see my side eventually. Well, the parents, Rika and Takumi are going out at about seven thirty… you should be there about twenty minutes earlier… so be at the Miyagi residence at seven ten. It's four thirty now, so that give you enough time to wash up and get ready to go and baby-sit on time. Mr and Mrs Miyagi should be home at or a little after midnight. From what I have heard, the three children will be a bit of a handful. Their names are, Kazuo, the oldest, who is seven, Kamiko, the middle child, who is six, and Rie, the youngest, who is four."

"And I am baby-sitting all three of them by myself?"

"Yes… is that a problem?"

I bit my tongue. "No. It is no problem at all."

"Alright. Go and get ready for your mission. I expect you to be on your best behaviour. Although this is your consequence, I expect you to treat this like you would any other mission. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." I said, as I bowed and then turned around and left her office.

I walked down the stairs, as I rubbed my temples in a slow, circular motion. Tsunade gave me a headache. I didn't want to go and baby-sit the damn kids. Why the fuck should it matter if I had some alcohol and got drunk? Tsunade wasn't innocent when it came to drinking sake. She almost always had some one her. And sure, in Tsunade's mind I was only seventeen and still underage, but in reality, I was one hundred and seventy one years old (twenty one in human years…). I should be able to drink. Damn Tsunade and whoever else told everyone that I am so much younger than I actually am.

Now, not only did I have to worry about Airi, the Akatsuki, what Ai will do if I get into any more trouble, and what I said to Kakashi and Sakura while I was drunk, I now had to worry about some bratty, evil, snot nosed spawns of Satan. Although Akatsuki worried me the most out of my list of worries. I was hoping that they had forgotten all about me…

* * *

_Back in the Akatsuki hideout…_

* * *

"So… we have been able to gather a little bit of information about this girl Deidara fought…" Pein said, standing in front of a semi circle of eight other members of the Akatsuki.

"And… what have we found out?" A blue, shark-like man carrying a giant sword wrapped in bandages on his back asked.

"Although we have been unable to find her name or alias, we have found out some very valuable information…"

"And what kind of fucking information is it?" A lavender eyed man known as Hidan asked, getting impatient.

Pein glared at the Jashinist and continued speaking, reading off of a sheet of paper he held in his hand and acting like he had never heard Hidan speak, "She has blood red hair and amber or yellow coloured eyes. She has darkly tanned skin. She stands about five foot seven or five foot eight. She is very skilled in taijutsu and very, very weak in genjutsu. Her skills in ninjutsu are unknown. She seems to have the power to shape shift into any animal at will, using little to no chakra. She may even be able to change into other people, vegetation, and inanimate objects, which leads me to believe that she is a shape shifter. She appears confident in battle, looks out for those she cares about, and swears quite a lot. This girl has a sharp tongue and a mean temper if you get on her bad side. She hates chocolate and loves being outside… this girl is not very well known… finding the information was quite a challenge…"

"And how did we come across all of this information?" The lighter side of a plant man, Zetsu, asked.

Pein smiled darkly and said, "I have my ways…"

"_I see, Pein-sama…_" The darker half of Zetsu hissed out.

"If any of you come across this girl, capture her and bring her back to the hideout. Then we will see if she is actually a shape shifter or not. If she is, we will make her join, if not, we kill her. If it turns out that she is an actual shape shifter, her talents could be of great use to us…" The mysterious leader of the Akatsuki said, a dark glint in his eyes.

* * *

_Back in Konoha…_

* * *

I had just finished drying my red hair. I had taken a shower, put on a fresh set of clothes, and put on some eyeliner. Today, I decided to wear a plain navy tank top with a pair of baggy black ninja shorts and my Konoha ninja headband tied around my waist. I skipped out on wearing my usual fishnets, kunai pouch, and weapons pouch. All I was going to do was baby sit some kids. Why would I need to look good or attractive? I was already ready for my babysitting job at seven ten.

I looked at the clock. It said it was only five twenty seven. I sighed. I had about an hour and a half to do nothing. I tapped my fingers against the walls as I walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, dragging the bottom of my feet against the floor. I walked to the table and slid the chair across the floor, making a loud scarping noise. I sighed again and resumed my finger tapping only this time, I was tapping the table. I was so bored. I heaved another sigh.

'_WOULD YOU SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF THE HOUSE?! YOUR CONSANT SIGHING AND THE LOUD NOISES YOU KEEP MAKING ARE INTURRUPTING MY NAPS AND KEEP ANNOYNG ME!!!'_ Ai screamed at me. I could tell that she was annoyed with me, although I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong this time. Maybe it was her time of the month? Probably.

"Fine! No need to bitch out." I muttered angrily before getting up, pulling my black ninja sandals on, and slamming the door closed. When I was outside my door, I hissed under my breath, "Stupid cat…"

The whole looking after evil, demonic children mission pissed me right off. I wasn't happy at all right now. I walked down the stairs of my apartment building and into the fresh Konoha air. I was going to go for a walk to try and cool down my temper before I went and unleashed my own version of hell upon the little humans I was going to be taking care of. I sighed and looked at the sky. It was a beautiful day. There was a nice breeze, but no a cloud on sight. All I saw was just a pure, never-ending, blue sky. I loved it.

I stopped and looked around at the people on the street. They all looked so happy and peaceful and worry free. The lucky bastards. The only thought that made me smile on the inside was the fact that I had and probably still will out live them all. Heh. Stupid humans. I shook my head and decided to just go to the Miyagiresidence. Maybe if the parents went out sooner, they would come back earlier.

I yawned and started walking slowly to where I was supposed to be the keeper of the children. This was going to be boring. I made it to the house in no time. The Miyagi residence was huge. The yard was fenced in with a tall gate and shrubs. The house was two stories and had a large front yard, and from what I could see, a gigantic backyard. Flowers of all colours lined the light grey cobblestone pathway to the door of the house, which was very gigantic. The door was a 'double door' that looked like it was made of gold. The roof was a deep grey in colour and the outside of the house was a sturdy, very classy looking, dark charcoal grey, rough stone. I could see a colour pattern here. The Miyagi family must really like grey. Even the curtains that covered the windows were a very light grey. Judging by the type of house that the Miyagi family resides in, I assumed that the children were probably spoiled brats.

I walked up the worn down, smooth, cobblestone steps and knocked loudly on he door. I waited, but only for a quick second. A lady swung open the door only a moment after I knocked. I blinked at her in surprise. She was dressed in a little black dress with a plunging neckline that left little to the imagination. Her jet-black hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head in an intricate design. She had light brown eyes that were caked with heavy purple makeup. She would have looked stunning if she wore less makeup and put some clothes on. I guessed her age to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

"Hello. I'm Makita. I was assigned to baby-sit your… children… tonight." I said, forcing a smile.

"Yes, yes," The lady said in a haughty voice, "We expected you earlier…"

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, "Oh really? I was told to be here a little after seven, but it's only six right now…"

"We usually expect our help to be an hour early, just so we can make sure our little angels like the help…" the lady sniffed. Hm. I hated her already. The stupid stuck up bitch.

"All right. I didn't know that…" I said, defending myself.

"It's fine, but don't let it happen again. Come, I'll introduce you to my little darlings." Mrs. Miyagi said, twirling away from the door and walking up a flight of stairs. This house was huge.

I walked in and shut the door behind me, walking quickly to catch up with the rich Mrs. Miyagi. "And here they are…" She said, gesturing to three children playing some sort of board game on the floor of a very expensive and elegantly decorated living room.

"I see…" I mumbled, taking in the room.

"The dark haired boy with green eyes is Kazuo, our sweet oldest child, the blonde girl with light brown eyes is Kamiko, our lovely middle child, and the other dark haired girl with light brown eyes is Rie, our darling youngest child. I trust that you will take good care of them. They can do whatever they please, as long as it is not too dangerous or illegal." The mother of the children smiled, looking affectionately at her three demons. I could see the evil behind the their small eyes.

"Oh! The help has arrived!" A man came into the room, looking serious. He had light blonde hair and bright, striking green eyes. He was rather short for a man, only about one inch taller than myself. He was wearing a black suit and tie. I briefly wondered where they were going.

"We should be back around midnight or one, depending on how the evening goes. We might not even be back until late tomorrow morning. The kids can be put to sleep around nine or ten. I expect you to feed them and to make sure they have a bath or shower. When I get home, I want my house to be exactly as I left it. Got it? Good. We'll see you later." Mrs. Miyagi said, and then she turned around, linked her arm with her husband's, and walked down the stairs, and out the door, leaving me with her children. What a bitch.

I slowly turned around. The three children had smiles on their faces. Hey weren't friendly smiles either. "Hello…" the oldest child, Kazuo, said, "We didn't get your name… what is it?"

"I am Makita." I said, glaring at them.

"We're hungry, go make us food." Rie, the youngest of the three children demanded in an annoyingly whiny voice.

"Excuse me? Can you use some manners?" I growled at them.

"Make us food or we'll tell mommy we saw you snooping through the drawers in her room and took some paper out of them!" Kamiko, the middle child yelled at me.

I raised my eyebrow. "No. Use manners, or else you can starve to death."

All three of their mouths opened and practically hit the floor. I knew I was being a bitch and really mean, but really, why the hell would I care? I was in a bad mood. "No one talks to us like that! Now, make us food or else!" Rie screamed.

"Now you listen here. I am not your slave. I am the one who is in charge of you. You are going to listen to me and be polite, otherwise there WILL be consequences." I hissed at the children, giving them my very best and most terrifying death glare. I could hear them gulp. That was my first big mistake.

"Could you… please … make us food?" The little one asked.

"Sure. That wasn't so hard, was it?" I grinned triumphantly.

"No." All three of the children chorused.

"I'll call you when dinner's ready." I said as I tuned my back and went to find the kitchen.

*The oldest, Kazuo, looked out the door, making sure that the mean read head was not in hearing distance. "This girl thinks she can be mean to us and tell us what to do? I THINK NOT! This is our house! WE RULE! We should teach her a lesson…" he said with an evil glint in his eye.

I hated cooking. I was no good at it. Every time I tried to make something, I usually ended up burning it and making it inedible. Not even Ai would eat my cooking. I was that bad. As much as I hated kids, I didn't want to end up poisoning them and then have to take the blame for murder, so I just looked through the cupboards until I found some instant ramen.

I boiled the water and added it to the hard noodles. I waited about two minutes and then I called the children down for supper. There was no answer. I yelled again, louder this time. There was still no answer. I was beginning to worry. I didn't want something to happen to the kids and then have to face the wrath of their mother. I walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway. That was my second big mistake.

I walked into the hallway, only to be pelted with a large amount of giant, unwrapped _condoms_. Ew. I gasped at how disgusting it was. Who knows if the condoms were used or not? I glared up at the giggling kids who were at the top of the stairs. "Get. Down. Here. NOW!" I bellowed, my voice echoing throughout the house.

"Was that an order?" Kamiko asked through her fit of giggles.

"Yes! Clean up this mess right now! Where did you even find these?!" I yelled, a deadly anger seeping into my tone.

"Mommy and Daddy's room. We're going to tell them that you had sex, lots of sex, with many different men, while they were gone." Kamiko laughed.

"What the fuck?! You stupid brats, get the fuck down here or I will kick your ass!" I threatened. These kids knew way too much about very mature things.

"Ohh… we're telling mommy that you swore." Rie said.

"Shut the fuck up and go burn in hell little girl. I don't give a shit about what you tell your mommy or daddy. Clean this up, NOW!" I yelled, anger making me forget whom I was talking to. That was big mistake number three.

"NO!" All three kids yelled at the same time, running away down the hallway.

I sighed in frustration and walked up the stairs after them. I really, really loathed children. "Where are you guys? Get back here and take responsibility for your actions!"

"HERE!" Kazuo, yelled, pelting me with water balloons filled with a colourful, syrupy liquid.

"Ack! What the hell!?" I shrieked as the syrup filled water balloons hit me, exploding and coating me in the sticky and rather colourful syrup. The floor was a shiny, polished hardwood and very, very slippery. I fell down. The other two little demonic humans came up and started sticking feathers, pieces of paper, little plastic toys, puzzle pieces, small stuffed animals, dirt, rocks, and a whole bunch of other shit to my syrup covered and very sticky body.

The children laughed. I was so pissed off. I tried to get up, but I was stuck to the floor. The spawns then got out some thick, sturdy tape. The 'children' (if you could even call them children) then taped my hands together, my feet together, and taped my mouth shut, and so I couldn't talk any more. I grunted at them, sending a deadly glare. They ignored me and proceeded to pry my suck body from the floor and push me down the stairs. Oh yeah, I was never having kids.

I tumbled down the stairs, hitting my head, my ribs, my ass, and pretty much every inch of my body against the hard, wooden stairs, my sticky body picking up the unwrapped condoms on my way down the stairs. I was going to be bruised tomorrow. Life sucks and it hates me. Why did I have to do this? I hate Tsuande. I hate her with a burning passion. I could have shape shifted and gotten myself out of this mess, but I highly doubt that Tsuande would want me to kill the three little sadists who saw me shape shift. Damn it.

I groaned when I was at the bottom, rolling over so I could look at the kids. The two girls were already running down the stairs, a bag in each hand and eager expressions on their faces. Oh shit. What did the little devils have planned? The youngest girl, Rie, sat down beside me and opened her bag. She pulled out a tube of lipstick and a container of hot pink blush. The other girl, Kamiko, sat on top of my chest and opened her bag as well and pulled out a tube of black mascara and a dish of multi-coloured eye shadow. Joy. The little demons wanted to do my makeup. This was not going to be fun at all.

"We'll make you look really pretty, Kita-chan! We promise!" the older girl said, laughing as she put the mascara on my eyebrows. The younger girl followed suit, painting blush on my forehead and lipstick on my nose. I was getting angry. I didn't want to resort to using ninjustu or taijutsu, but I was going to have to.

I ripped the tape on my legs and hands in half, successfully freeing myself and scaring the two girls away from me. I ripped the tape that covered my mouth off and yelled, "THAT IS ENOUGH!" I grabbed the girls roughly by the arm and took them to the kitchen, where I taped their legs to a chair. "Now eat your ramen." I hissed dangerously.

I also sat at the table; noticing the syrup had hardened to a disgusting crusty type substance, and watching the girls eat. I could tell that I had scared them. Good. Now all I needed to do was wrangle up that stupid, jackass, boy demon thing, clean the mess they made, and put the little devils to bed. I looked at the clock that sat above the stove. It was only seven o'clock. Damn.

I heard the kitchen door swing open and I looked up. My eyes were met with the boy, Kazuo, holding a kunai knife and glaring at me. "Let my sisters go, or else I will kill you!" he yelled at me angrily.

I raised my eyebrow and began laughing. This little, untrained boy wouldn't even be able to land a scratch on me. "Try it. I dare you to try and kill me."

"I-I will!" The boy threatened. Or, at least least, tried to threaten. I could tell he was just trying to show off for his younger siblings.

"Then come and try it. Kill me." I said, staying completely still and staring Kazuo down.

"Fine!" He yelled, holding the kunai out and running towards me. I waited until he was less than a foot away before I moved out of the way, grabbed the kunai out of his hand, and pinned him on the table.

"See? You won't be able to kill me. The worst you could do is annoy me and have ME kill you." I growled to him.

"You w-wouldn't r-r-really kill us, w-would you?" Kamiko asked.

"If you keep annoying me I might." I muttered under my breath, letting Kazuo go. "All right. Now, Kazuo, eat the ramen I made for you like your sisters are. I don't want to hear any complaints." I said.

"You know what, our other babysitters are nice to us and don't yell and they let us get away with everything and-" Kamiko started, but I cut her off.

"I am not your other babysitters. I'm especially not a pushover, especially when it comes to bratty, stuck up, kids." I said angrily.

I could hear all three of them gulp. "You're not nice. I hate you." Rie said.

"We hate you too!" the other two children chorused.

"I don't really care if you hate me or not. I'm not too fond of you three either, you know." I shot back at them.

Kazuo snorted and began to eat his ramen. "… Thanks for making food…" He muttered under his breath.

I grinned to myself triumphantly. Hopefully, I scared the kids into behaving. "After you're done eating, you can take a bath or shower and then go to bed."

"But it's only seven thirty!" Kamiko whined.

"I know. It's your punishment for throwing condoms at me, smothering me in syrup, sticking a whole bunch of random shit to me, and threatening to kill me…." I said, glaring at them.

Rie giggled, "The syrup also dyes whatever it touches for three days."

My eye twitched. "What?" I asked in a deadly calm voice, which caused the children to stop what they were doing and look at me with wide eyes.

"Y-y-you're skin and h-hair and c-clothes and w-whatever else t-the s-syrup t-t-touched… they're going to be b-b-blue a-and pink and p-purple for the next three days… after t-t-t-three days, t-the syrup s-should c-c-come out." Kamiko said, stuttering.

"I'll give you twenty seconds to run before I kick the shit out of you." I said in a quite, threatening voice.

All three of the kids shrieked. The girls started pulling at the tape around their legs. Within ten seconds, the girls were freed and, following their brother, ran out of the kitchen. I counted to ten and then ran after them. I looked for their chakra signatures and quickly found them. The evil demons were outside, in the backyard. I walked slowly outside, not rushing.

I walked out the door and was hit with a very strong blast of icy water. I sputtered and slipped on the wet grass. I hit the ground with a thump and growled. The water then stopped. These kids were fucking evil. When I stood up, most of the plastic toys, condoms, stuffed animals, puzzle pieces and a bunch of other shit that was stuck to my body because of the syrup stuff fell off my body.

I got up and glared at the three kids who were standing a few feet away, holding a garden hose in their hands. "What the hell was that for?"

"The syrup melts and comes off in cold water… although the water has to be really hot if you want the colours to fade and go away…" Kazuo said.

"Oh…" I muttered, looking away. I was cold and very surprised that they did something… somewhat not completely evil. "Well, get upstairs and get ready for bed. Now." I ordered.

The kids groaned and walked back in the house. I shook the water off of myself and followed after the kids. I turned the handle of the door, only to find that it was locked. I sighed. Stupid kids. I was a _ninja_. It would take more than a simple locked door to keep me out. I closed my eyes and vanished in a cloud of smoke. I reappeared inside the house, right in front of the kids. All three of them gasped and took a step back.

"Get. Ready. For. Bed. _NOW_." I said.

The kids took one look at my face and ran up the stairs. I was so pissed off. Not only was I dead tired from chasing after these little hell spawns and genjutsu training, but I hate kids and don't want to be here, _and_ I have to wake up early because I have more genjutsu training tomorrow morning at seven thirty! I shook my head and dragged myself up the stairs after the kids, just to make sure they didn't plan anything else or were destroying something else.

I could hear the sounds of three showers running. I checked for chakra signatures and found all three of them in three separate rooms. I sighed and leaned against the railing and stared at the wall, thinking. I heard one shower shut off, then another. A few minuets later, the other shower stopped running. I turned to look down the hallway and saw Kazuo, Kamiko, and Rie walking down the hallway, complete with damp hair and their pyjamas on.

"Good. You got ready for bed. Now, go to sleep." I said.

"Can we have a snack? Please, Kita-chan?" Rie asked, giving me puppy dog eyes.

I sighed and began to walk down the stairs, "Sure, but no funny stuff or calling me 'Kita-chan' anymore… Got it?"

"Yeah…" The three evil human children said as they trudged down the stairs after me.

They sat at the table, while I fished through the cupboards. I came up with three 'all natural' granola bars. I looked at the granola bars and then at the kids, deciding that this is what they would be eating. I put the food on the table and each of the kids took one. Kamiko yawned, Kazuo stretched out his arms, and Rie rubbed her eyes tiredly. I could tell that they were tired, probably from torturing me. They soon finished their snack and slowly trudged up the stairs.

I followed after them, making sure that they actually went to bed. They did. A few minuets after their heads hit the pillow, they were out cold. I could hear all of them snoring loudly. I sighed and closed all of their bedroom doors. I checked the clock. It was only nine o'clock. Now it was time to clean up the mess that Kazuo, Kamiko, and Rie made.

An hour and a half later…

I let out a huff. I had finally finished cleaning. I had to pick up all of the condoms that were thrown around, scrub the sticky floors, clean up and put away all of the shit that the kids threw around, clean up the kitchen, make sure everything was how it was before I came here, and take out the garbage. I was a sweaty, tired mess.

I heard the front door open and I walked from the kitchen to the front of the house. There was Mr and Mrs. Miyagi. I raised an eyebrow in question. I thought that her and her husband weren't supposed to be home until later this evening. It was only ten thirty. Mrs. Miyagi glanced towards me and just stuck her nose up in the air. She turned away from me and walked up the stairs. I turned to look at Mr. Miyagi with a questioning expression on my face.

Mr. Miyagi just sighed. "Don't ask. Just… don't ask. The party wasn't what she was expecting."

"Oh… I see…" I said, looking away.

"Yes. How much will I be paying you?" Mr. Miyagi asked, pulling out his very thick wallet.

"Nothing. The Hokage said that I'm not supposed to accept payment for this mission…" I sighed, refusing payment.

"Alright. How were my darling angels? Were they a handful?" He asked, taking in my colourful and ragged appearance, but smiling when he said '_darling angels'_. I had to stop myself from snorting. Those three demons were quite the opposite of angels.

"A handful like you wouldn't believe." I muttered back, shaking my head. "I'll be leaving. Bye."

"Should we expect you to be sitting for us again?" Mr. Miyagi asked.

"I'm not sure. It depends if I get assigned to baby-sit." I said, forcing a smile. I was hoping I would never have the displeasure of looking after any child again. This 'mission' made my hatred of children increase a tenfold.

"Well all right. I'll se you later." Mr. Miyagi said, smiling and then opening the door for me.

"Thanks." I said, walking quickly out of the Miyagi household. I hoped that I would never have to come back here.

"It's not a problem. I'll see you some other time. Goodbye." Mr. Miyagi said with a smile, closing the door to his home.

I sighed and walked down the cobblestone steps. That mission was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I looked at my blue, pink, and purple hands and grimaced. I was not happy at all about the fact that I was going to have multi-coloured skin and hair for the next three days. Just what the hell was in those syrup water balloon bomb things? Where the hell did the children even get that stuff? It was beyond me. I don't care what Tsunade says. I'm never, EVER, baby-sitting, watching, or taking care of the Miyagi children again. Scratch that, I'm _**never**_ baby-sitting any kids again. Ever.

I shook my head. When I got home, I was going to take a nice, long, hot shower, put on my favourite pair of pyjamas and go to sleep. I was so exhausted. I didn't want to have to do anymore genjutsu training. I was considering calling in sick tomorrow, but remembered about the Akatsuki. I needed to get stronger in my weakest area if I was ever going to stand a chance against them. I was also partly doing this for Airi. I wanted her to get better. I wanted the old Airi that I knew and loved back.

"No!" I said out loud to myself, stopping in the middle of the dark Konoha street. "I will NOT worry about that _or_ that. I will remain focused on getting stronger in genjutsu and doing it for myself." I muttered the last part to myself.

I kept walking back to my home. Sleep was what I wanted most. A nice bowl of fruit before I went to bed also sounded very appealing. I was thinking about how stupid I probably looked right now. My hair was sticking up at odd angles; my hair, skin, and clothes were multicoloured pink, blue, and purple; I was dead tired, I probably moved like a walking corpse, and, to top it all off, I was walking alone in a practically deserted area. Great. The good thing was that I was only about a block away from my apartment building.

I yawned and kept walking. Soon, I saw the familiar door of my apartment complex. I pulled the door open and trudged up the stairs. I took my key out of my pocket and shoved it into the lock. I opened the door and stepped inside, shutting and locking the door behind me. I kicked off my sandals and stumbled my way to the kitchen. There was a bowl of fruit on the table. I grabbed an apple out of the bowl and began munching in the crisp fruit. It was delicious.

I walked into the living room and was greeted by my not so polite cat, _'And what exactly happened to you? It looks like some kids mistook you for an Easter egg and tried to dip you in dye. You look horrible."_

"Thanks, Ai. You make me feel so wonderful." I sad sarcastically, lying down on the couch.

'_Hey! I'm jut pointing out a fact here.'_ Ai defended.

"Mhm. Whatever you say, Ai." I mumbled, taking another bite of my apple.

'_So I take it babysitting didn't go to well?'_ Ai said, jumping up on the armrest of the couch, opposite my head.

"It was awful. I hate kids." I hissed.

Ai snorted. _'I should have guessed that…'_

"So, what did you do while I was working?" I asked Ai.

'_Nothing, to tell you the truth. I mostly napped and sunbathed.'_ Ai said, yawning.

"Are you tired?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

'_Yes I am. Sun bathing is a lot of work, you know.'_ Ai informed me.

"All right then. I'm going to go and shower, then I'll be going to bed."

'I'll probably already be asleep when you get out of the shower… getting rid of that dye on your skin and hair is going to take a while to get off…' Ai told me.

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams. Love you." I said, walking to the bathroom.

'I love you too, Makita.' Ai called. I smiled.

I walked into the bathroom and shut the door tightly behind me. I turned on the shower to the hottest water temperature, making the water get really hot, really fast. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the already steaming water. I grabbed a bar of soap and immediately started scrubbing. I could see colours running off of my body and melding with the water and soap, creating colourful bubbles. I grabbed shampoo and scrubbed my hair vigorously. I washed out the bubbles and soap from my hair and re-shampooed it. Colours ran out of my hair, going down the drain. I then conditioned hair and scrubbed my body with soap for another good fifteen minuets.

I rinsed the excess soap from my body and shut the water off. I opened the shower door and let the steam escape with me. I shook my wet hair and grabbed a fluffy towel from the towel rack. I wrapped myself inside its softness. I rubbed the steam away from the mirror with another towel and looked at myself. The colour had faded a lot. You couldn't see any colour patches on my face or legs, but you could see faint traces of blue, purple, and pink in my hair and on my arms and torso and neck. I shook my head. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The colour should be completely gone by tomorrow or the next day.

I opened the door to the bathroom and walked to my room, still wrapped in a towel. I yawned and opened my closet doors, pulling out a large red t-shirt and long black pyjama pants. I yawned again and crawled under the covers, resting my head on my pillow and snuggling into my bed. I took a deep breath and within minutes of getting into bed, I was asleep.

* * *

"Wake up, Makita-chan." A far away voice called, shaking me.

I groaned and swatted the person's hand away. "Ten more minutes…"

"Makita-chan… you need to get up now… you said you'd only sleep for ten more minutes twenty minuets ago…" I heard the person sigh.

"Mhm…" I muttered, rolling over and pulling the covers over my head.

"Makita-chan, please wake up! The Hokage is waiting for us!" The person said, exasperated.

"Hokage? M'kay… we'll see them when it's night…" I mumbled sleepily.

I suddenly felt cool air as the blankets were ripped off of me. "Seriously, Makita, we need to get going. We're already really late." Whoever the person was said.

Wait. Why was this person in my house… in my room, to top it all of? My eyes flew open and I sat up rather quickly. "What the fuck?!" I yelled, getting startled and falling off of my bed, after seeing Kiba and Akamaru near my bed. Kiba was holding my covers and Akamaru was chewing on one corner of my blankets.

"We have an emergency assassination mission this morning. The Hokage sent me to get you… although I didn't think you'd be this hard to wake up…" Kiba smirked.

I groaned, "What time is it?"

"About five in the morning…" Kiba said.

"Why the hell would she want us up this early?" I whined, getting up off the floor and going to my closet, and grabbing clothes.

"I have no idea. She said that we're going to Kiri and that she's going to give us both the information when we get to the Hokage tower."

"Okay. Sounds good. Wait… how the hell did you get into my apartment?" I asked.

"I'm a ninja, Makita-chan. It's going to take more than a locked door to keep me out." Kiba said, smirking at me. Akarmaru barked and wagged his tail. "And the fact that Tsunade-sama gave me a key made it easy to get in."

I rolled my eyes and walked out of my room and down the hall, towards the bathroom, "I'm going to get changed. You can wait in the living room."

"Alright. Be quick. We're already late." Kiba said, walking to the living room.

"Yeah, yeah." I said, shutting the door to the bathroom door behind me.

I quickly brushed my hair and washed my face with cool water. I put on some eyeliner and stripped out of my pyjamas and put on my fishnet top and a black tank top over it. Then I put on a pair of baggy black ninja pants and tired my ninja headband around my waist. I pulled on my fingerless gloves and re-brushed my hair. I walked out of the bathroom and back to my room, quickly packing a bag with a change of clothes, solider pills, and the necessities for the mission. I strapped on my kunai pouch and weapons pouch. I scanned quickly over my room, making sure I didn't forget anything important.

I walked back into the living room to find Kiba and Akamaru glaring at Ai, with Ai glaring right back and hissing.

"All right. I'm ready. Let's go." I said, bag in my hand.

_'I hate being woken up so early… especially by dogs…'_ Ai sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.

I sighed, "I'll see you later Ai. I have a mission."

_'Fine. I'll see you later. Be safe.'_ Ai said.

I walked to the front, Kiba and Akamaru following behind me, and pulled on my black ninja sandals. Kiba, Akamaru, and I walked out the door. I shut the door to my apartment and locked it behind me, pocketing the key. I ran down the stairs and out of my apartment building.

"Alright. Let's hurry." Kiba said.

"Right." I replied, jumping onto the rooftops and running to the Hokage's building.

We made it to Tsunade's office in no time, rushing past the reception desk and running up the stairs. We knocked on the door and waited patiently. A few moments later we heard a muffled, "Come in." We opened the door to a sleepy-eyed Tsunade.

"You're late." She said, shaking her head at us.

"It's not my fault. Makita-chan is impossible to wake up." Kiba said, smirking at me.

"Oh, shut up." I said, "I like my sleep."

"Anyways, your mission is an assassination in Kiri." Tsunade said, handing me some papers, "The man you are sent to assassinate, Yuu Ito, has been planning something against Konoha. It's going to be big. We must not let him do anything to disrupt Konoha. Kill him, no questions. Makita-san, you can use your special ability in front of Kiba. I think I can trust him not to tell your secret…"

Kiba raised his eyebrows and turned to me, "Special ability? What's that about?"

"I'll tell you later, Kiba." I said.

"Anyways, you will travel to Kiri and ambush him. Failure is not an option." Tsunade said.

"Right!" Kiba and I said together, while Akamaru barked.

"Go now. I will expect you to be back within the week." Tsunade said, looking at seriously.

"Before we go… Tsunade-sama… how is Airi doing?" I asked.

"She's getting a little bit better… we need to find an antidote. We are using a combative medication to try and conquer the poison, but it's not a cure…" Tsunade informed me.

"Oh… I see…" I said. I was still worried about Airi.

"Don't worry about it, Makita-san. Now, go on your mission. Good luck!" Tsunade said.

Kiba and I nodded and bowed and then we left Tsunade's office. We ran out of Konoha, ready to start our mission. We entered the forest, Kiba riding on Akamaru, running through the trees towards The Village Hidden In The Mist. For some reason, I was very nervous. I didn't have a good feeling about the mission.

* * *

**BWAHA! Done! Finally. It's long, but that's okay! Review please! **


	9. Chapter 9

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Here to do the disclaimer is…

**KIRATHIS-CHAN:**

**If Cat-chan owned Naruto, or I did, Sasuke would be suffering the most terrible and painful way of dying. Deidara and Itachi would be alive and Kisame would get a lot of hugs. But that is not real, is it? So obviously we don't own Naruto.**

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**Thank you very much Kirathis-chan! Chapter nine! Thanks to Kirathis-chan for giving me some ideas for this chapter! Thank you to all have reviewed, added this story to their alerts and favorites! Enjoy!**

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Kiba and I were about half a day away from Kiri. It was currently nighttime and we had decided to stop and rest before we had to assassinate Yuu Ito. I thought it was odd that I was sent on an assassination mission with a partner. Usually I just go alone. I also thought it was weird that I had a mission with Kiba and that Tsunade was allowing me to show Kiba my abilities as a shape shifter, but hell, who was I to argue with the Hokage? I personally didn't mind telling about or showing Kiba my powers. It would be good to let it out and tell someone for a change. The only two people in the village (excluding Ai… she's a cat…) who I knew that they knew about me being a shape shifter was Tsunade and Sakura. Not even Airi or Lee knew.

Kiba and I had stopped in a clearing in the forest and we were currently sitting beside a nice and warm fire. We had already eaten supper. I let out a yawn. I was tired. It felt good to be out of Konoha. I loved to travel and go on missions that involved me going places. It was always interesting. I loved seeing new things, meeting new people, and trying out different things. It was always great.

"So… Makita-chan…" Kiba started, "What is your special 'powers' that Tsunade was talking about?"

I stretched out my arms and gave Kiba a smirk, "You really want to know?"

"Yeah. If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't be asking. Do you have a secret bloodline limit or something?" Kiba asked me.

"Well, not exactly. The thing is, I'm not human." I stated.

Kiba raised his eyebrow, "Not exactly human. Elaborate on that please…"

The expression Kiba was giving me was rather funny. I had to try hard not to laugh out loud. "Well, I look like a human, yes, but I'm not. In reality, I'm a shape shifter."

"Uh huh. Really." Kiba said. From his tone of voice, I could tell that he didn't believe me at all.

"You don't actually believe me, do you?" I questioned.

"Not at all. If you really are a shape shifter, prove it. Show me what you can do." Kiba dared, giving me a smirk.

"Fine." And with that, I transformed my body into a giant, not very attractive looking spider. Then, I quickly turned into a large plate of dango. Next, I shifted into a bat and flew next to Kiba. When I was beside him, I turned back into my normal self.

Kiba's jaw practically hit the ground and then he said in amazement, "Wow. That is so cool. You really are a shape shifter, aren't you?"

"In the flesh. To my knowledge, I'm the only living shape shifter left." I replied.

"Really? What happened to the others?" Kiba asked with interest.

"They were all killed…" I muttered, looking away from him. Really, I didn't care that all of the people in my village were killed. They deserved it for what they did to me, but I didn't want to come across as heartless. I knew, although I lied to everyone, including myself, that deep down, I cared and I didn't know why.

"How?" Kiba questioned me.

"That's classified information and I don't want to talk about it." I said, "Sorry Kiba-kun."

Kiba gave me a small grin, "That's fine. I have another question… how exactly does it work?"

"Does what work?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"You being a shape shifter…" Kiba said.

"That is a really good question. To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure… I guess I'm a different species than the human species…" I told my dog-loving friend.

"That's okay. So, what else can you tell me about shape shifters? Are you exactly like humans?" Kiba asked me.

"Well, in some ways shape shifters are like humans and in other ways, they are not. For instance, shape shifters have a much longer life span than humans and they don't age past thirty in looks. I'm already one hundred and seventy one years old, twenty-one in human years, or something like that, I guess. Although for some reason, I haven't aged past nineteen, so I guess that's why Tsunade told everyone I'm seventeen, so I blend in. I can also communicate with animals telepathically and I can put my thoughts into a human's mind, but I can't read the human's thoughts. Anyways, shape shifters and humans both use chakra, although I don't need to use much chakra to shape shift, although I do need chakra do jutsus and to enhance my taijutsu. Humans and shape shifters are very similar…" I said, trying my best to explain.

"That's pretty interesting…" Kiba said. I could tell that he was deep in thought.

"Any more questions?" I asked Kiba, smiling at him.

"Yeah… Makita-chan… This is off the topic of what we've been talking about, but I've always wondered… why don't you like Hinata-chan?" Kiba said, wording his question carefully.

Fuck. I didn't want to explain this to Kiba, of all people. I knew he cared a lot about Hinata and I didn't want to offend him. "Well, I guess she has the type of personality that I don't like or get along with. She's quiet and always nervous and fidgety and not to mention that she's a Hyuga and she always stutters and I don't really know her… the list goes on…" I explained quickly.

"Have you tried to get to know her or get along with her? And you don't like her just because she is apart of the Hyuga clan?" Kiba asked, giving me a quizzical look.

"Well, I really hate Neji. He's an asshole. And no, I haven't tried to get along with her. She always acts like she's terrified of me. I don't like or appreciate that at all." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

Kiba sighed, "Hinata acts like she's scared of you because she is. No offense, but you do have a rather strong personality and you're never nice or polite to Hinata. You've never tried to get along with her. The day you met her, you instantly hated her. Although I do agree with you, Neji is an asshole, but he's getting better at not being such a complete ass."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Neji? Not being a huge asshole? When that day comes, I will personally propose to the person of your choice."

"I will hold you to that. Just promise me this; you'll try to be nicer to Hinata. I care about the both of you and don't like seeing the two of you not getting along. I'm not saying to go out and be best friends, just be nicer and more tolerant towards her, okay?" Kiba asked me, turning to look at my face.

FUCK YOU! Was what my mind was screaming right now. I hated Hinata, and really, that wasn't going to change, but I really liked Kiba… I sighed and decided to give in, "Ugh. Fine. You owe me."

Kiba laughed. "Whatever you say."

I yawned and looked over to Akamaru, who was fast asleep. "Aw. He's sleeping."

"He's the smart one." Kiba said as he let out a quiet chuckle.

"I agree. I think I'm going to follow suit and go to sleep as well." I said as I stood up and stretched, hearing my back crack.

"Sounds good." Kiba said as he took a giant blanket out of his bag. Kiba walked over to Akamaru and put the blanket over the sleeping dog, and then he got under the cover of the blanket next to Akamaru. It was cute.

I went to my own bag and rummaged around, looking for my own blanket. "Damn it…" I groaned. I knew I had forgotten to pack something. I sighed and zipped my bag back up. It was going to be a chilly night.

Kiba lifted his head up to look at me, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just had a moment of stupidity and forgot to pack a blanket when I was packing this morning." I sighed.

Kiba lifted up the his own blanket and said, "Then come and sleep under the covers with Akamaru and me. It's going to be a cold night, but it'll be warm under here."

"You sure?" I asked, unsure.

"Yeah. It'll be fine. I'm sure Akamaru won't mind." Kiba smirked at me.

I smiled at him, "Thanks."

"It's not a problem." Kiba said.

I walked over to Kiba and the sleeping Akamaru. I crawled under the covers, my back facing Kiba. He pulled the covers down and covered me with them. I felt the warmth instantly. Then, Kiba wrapped an arm around my waist and put his arm under my head, giving me something to rest my head on, and putting his own head near the crook of my neck, using it as a pillow. "'Night Makita-chan."

"Goodnight Kiba-kun." I said, snuggling into Kiba and instantly falling asleep in Kiba's arms.

* * *

"Makita-chan… wake up… please…" I heard Kiba say as he nudged me lightly.

I groaned and pulled the covers over my head, mumbling about how much I loved sleeping. "I want more sleep…"

"Makita-chan! We have a mission. Get. Up." Kiba said, exasperated.

I awoke instantly, my eyes flying open, and I quickly noted that I was lying comfortably face to face with Kiba and that his arms were wrapped around me. "Mission!?"

"Makita-chan… you need help…" Kiba sighed with a smile on his face, showing me that he was just kidding.

I freed one of my arms from under the blankets and scratched the back of my head, "How long have you been trying to wake me?"

"The past half hour…" Kiba said, grinning at me.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, attempting to get off the ground, only to find that I was tangled up in Kiba's blanket. With a startled yell, I fell over, landing on top of Kiba.

"Oomph!" Both Kiba and I said when I landed on Kiba. We both looked at each other. I was on top of Kiba and we were barely an inch a part. Our noses were almost touching. A light blush covered Kiba's face. It was cute. A grin slid its way onto my face. I giggled. Kiba slowly started to smile as well, letting out a small chuckle. Soon, we were both laughing, clutching our sides, while Akamaru stood beside us, giving us an odd look.

I smiled at Kiba and rolled off of him, "And how did you sleep?"

"Really well. It was nice and warm." Kiba smirked.

"That's good." I said, still smiling.

"And you?" Kiba asked me.

"Really good. It was really comfy." I said, grinning. Remember when I said I didn't have a crush on Kiba? I lied. I liked Kiba. I liked him a lot. I would date him if I could, but I mean, come on. I'm too old for him. Way too old. It makes me kind of sad.

I got up and stretched. "All right. Let's get moving. I want to get this over and done with."

"I agree." Kiba said, standing up as well and packing his blanket back into his bag.

I walked over to my bag and put it on my shoulders. I turned back to Kiba with a smile. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Kiba said. He was sitting on Akamaru.

And with that, we jumped into the trees, heading for The Village Hidden In The Mist.

* * *

Kiba and I were about two kilometers out away from Kiri, so we decided to stop and discuss a plan, "Okay, so this guy is apparently really… uh… suspicious of everyone…" Kiba said, reading out of the bingo book information we had on the guy we were supposed to kill.

"And…? What else is there?" I asked, getting impatient. Sure, I really loved getting out of Konoha and exploring, but I liked to finish my missions as quickly as possible, because then I got more free time to do and see other things before returning to my home village.

"Uh… apparently he runs an underground prostitution ring…" Kiba coughed uncomfortably.

"Yeah… so?" I asked Kiba, smirking at him because he seemed very, very embarrassed about something.

"He has a redhead fetish…" Kiba muttered, looking away from me. I could tell that the information about Yuu Ito having a redhead fetish bothered Kiba.

I stopped and looked at Kiba. I snorted and a few second later, I was blonde. Kiba blinked. "There. Is that better? Now he'll leave me alone."

"I doubt it. He likes pretty girls." Kiba said, looking at the bingo book.

"Are you calling me pretty?" I asked. I was a little shocked. Out of all the things I remember from my past and during my time spent in the Village Hidden In The Leaves, no one had ever called me pretty. And coming from Kiba? It was weird, but I liked the compliment. It kind of made me happy. Especially since it came from Kiba.

"Yeah…" Kiba said.

"Okay…" I muttered, looking away.

"Can you go back to being a redhead? Blonde really doesn't suit you." Kiba grinned.

"Alright. I'm not really to fond of being blonde anyways." I smiled.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence. We were getting close to the Mist Village. I could tell because a thick mist had rolled in and it was getting thicker by the minute. Soon, I couldn't see Kiba and Akamauru, who were only a few feet away from me. I put my hand in front of my face. I couldn't see it. What the fuck?

"Kiba?" I called out.

"Makita?" I heard Kiba, somewhere in the distance yell back to me.

I blinked, surprised. How the hell did he get so far away? "Where the fuck are you?" I yelled.

"I'm over here! Damn this mist is thick!" Kiba yelled back.

"Okay! Don't move. I'll come and get you." I shouted in the general direction of where I heard Kiba's voice.

I started walking towards where I last heard Kiba. This was so stupid. The goddamn mist came out of nowhere. On top of that, now I had to try and find Kiba and Akamaru. I sighed and kept trying to navigate my way through the thick, white mist. Suddenly, I tripped over something on the ground. "Ack!" I yelled as I fell.

"Makita-chan! Are you okay?" I barely heard Kiba's very quiet voice, which sounded even farther away than before.

"Yeah! I'll be fine!" I called, being as loud as I could.

I got back up and brushed the damp dirt from my clothes. I checked my knees of any injury. There was none. I sighed again and turned around, walking to where I had heard Kiba. I grumbled under my breath. Stupid mist. I know we were in the area of The Village Hidden In The Mist, but really? I didn't seriously think that the mist would be this bad. I had been here before on a mission and the mist wasn't even half as bad as it was now.

I sighed and called out to Kiba again, just to make sure I was going in the right direction, "Kiba?"

I heard no answer. I blinked. There was no way he could be that far away. I called out Kiba's name again, only to receive the same answer I had received before: silence. The silence was almost deafening. Shit, shit, shit. I had lost my comrade.

"KIBA!? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" I shouted as loud as I possibly could, I still received no answer. Well, this was just great. Notice the sarcasm.

I grumbled some obscenities under my breath and trudged on, which really wasn't a smart idea, but hell, I was feeling lazy and reckless. I walked a few more steps before I stopped and groaned, "Just where the hell did you disappear to?"

"I'm right here." I heard a voice that was defiantly not Kiba's whisper behind me. The voice sounded so close. I whipped around, drawing a kunai from my kunai holder that was strapped around my leg. The only problem was that there was no one behind me.

"Who or what the fuck are you?" I said, glaring into the thick mist. There was no answer.

I huffed. I was scared right now, but there was no way in hell that I would let the enemy (or anyone else) see that. I began to think about this rationally. Okay, so Kiba and I were walking and this damn mist came out of nowhere. There was no warning and no hints earlier in the day that told us there would be a mist/fog this heavy. Then it hit me. I was so stupid. I should really start paying more attention to what goes one around me. Could it be a ninjutsu that caused the mist? Or maybe I was in a genjutsu.

I formed the proper hand seals and concentrated and then I muttered, "Release!"

When I opened my eyes, everything was still the same. Ugh. It must be some sort of a ninjutsu then. Well, at least I stood a chance against ninjutsu. I looked around, fully on guard, but I could still see nothing but thick mist. This was beginning to annoy me. Then it came to me.

I put my kunai back into the holder on my leg and quickly transformed into a small, gray sparrow. I flew upwards, towards the sky. If I could fly high enough to get out of the mist, I could see what was going on and try to see if I could find Kiba and Akamaru. I flew upward, beating my little sparrow wings fast and hard. Soon, I was free of the overly thick, annoying mist.

I stopped and hovered in the air, looking down at the earth below me. I was surprised to see that the mist had only covered about two hundred meters of the ground I was currently hovering above. I could see Kiba just outside the mist. He looked disoriented and confused and he seemed to be calling into the mist, probably looking for me. I flew down to where Kiba and Akamaru were standing and transformed back into a human before I hit the ground.

"Kiba-kun… are you okay?" I asked, walking towards him slowly. I was unsure if he was my actual Kiba or an imposter.

"Yeah, Makita-chan. I'm fine… just a little confused. I thought I lost you in there." Kiba said, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Where the hell did this mist come from?" I asked Kiba, "I mean, I know we're near Kiri, but the mist came out of no where and it only covers a circumference of about two hundred meters."

"Mhm. I do find it rather odd. I'm not exactly sure where the mist came from though. I was thinking ninjutsu." Kiba said.

"As was I. Do you think our target knows we're here?" I questioned.

"I highly doubt it, although some other enemy ninja might have noticed us, so be on your guard." Kiba replied.

"Mhm…" I said as I chewed on my lip. "Kiba, who do you th-"

"Makita! Behind you!" Kiba yelled.

I turned around and had to move quickly to avoid the kunai knives and shuriken that were flying towards me. I jumped and landed beside Kiba and Akamaru in a crouch. I stood up and glared towards the trees. What I saw made me growl. Akatsuki. Two of them. One was very tall and had blue skin and hair. He had a shark like appearance and was carrying a very large… sword… thing… that was wrapped in bandages. The other member of Akatsuki was about my height and he had jet-black hair and cold, dark eyes.

I recognized them from the bingo books. The man with the emotionless eyes was Itachi Uchia. He had killed his entire clan, minus his little brother. The tall, blue man… I had no idea who he was. The shark like man looked very familiar, but I couldn't remember his name. I should have read the whole bingo book that Tsunade-sama told me to read, instead of just flipping through it and looking at the pictures. I was on guard, watching the members of the Akatsuki like a hawk. I knew they were dangerous.

"We're here for the girl." The dark haired one, Itachi, said in a monotone voice.

I could have guessed that.

"Why!?" Kiba snarled, getting into a fighting stance.

Oh shit. We were in serious trouble.

"Our reasons for wanting her are none of your concern, dog boy." The blue man said.

"You can either come with us willingly, or we can use force." Itachi said, using the same monotone voice as before while he turned to me, giving me a cold stare that chilled me to my very core.

"Uh…" I said and I glanced at Kiba. I didn't want him to get hurt.

"No. Makita-chan, you're not going with them. I'd rather die." Kiba hissed at me. I was taken aback at his harsh tone. Fine then. Go all psycho protective.

"Then die you will!" The shark man yelled as he charged at Kiba, brandishing his sword.

"Makita, run!" Kiba yelled, pushing me away.

What the fuck? There was no way in hell that I was going to listen to Kiba and run away from a fight, especially against two Akatsuki members. I wasn't going to let Kiba die. Well, I guess my opponent was Itachi. Fuck my life. I knew that this Itachi guy was a master in genjutsu and he had a very advanced eye technique called the sharingan (although I wasn't exactly sure what the sharingan did, or could do, for that matter…). It was times like these that I really wished that I had paid attention to what Tsunade-sama told me and that I read what she had assigned me to read.

I took out four kunai knives, two in each hand, and threw the knives at Itachi. He dodged them easily, moving faster than my eyes could see. In an instant, he was in front of me, his eyes now red. I jumped to the side and took out more kunai. I threw the deadly knives at the dark haired Akatsuki member. In a flash, Itachi had deflected the kunai with his own and threw six back at me. I dodged and ducked behind a tree. I heard the kunai pierce the tree I was now hiding behind. Then, I darted into the trees. I was hoping that Itachi would follow, which I was sure that he would, so I could draw him away from the fighting Kiba and shark man, so I could use my jutsu. I didn't want to accidentally hurt Kiba when I used it.

While I ran, I was having a mild panic attack on the inside. I was no match for Itachi. I knew that. He knew that. I'm pretty sure everyone knew that. I could tell that this Akatsuki member wasn't even trying to fight me. Tch. I would just have to escape then and use some of my more dangerous jutsu. I looked over my shoulder to see if the black haired ninja was following me. Oddly enough, I couldn't see him. I turned around to look where I was going and was shocked to almost run into the very ninja that I thought was behind me. Itachi. He was glaring at me. Fuck. I glared back at him, backing up slowly to put some distance in between us.

"It would be easier for you if you just came with us willingly. Then you or your friend wouldn't have to get hurt." Itachi said in the same, boring, monotone voice. To tell you the truth, Itachi's voice creeped me out.

"There is no way in hell that I am going to go with you." I hissed at him angrily.

I received no reply, but seconds after I uttered my sentence; Itachi was in front of me, a kunai placed at my throat. I blinked. That was fast. There was silence. I tried to think of a way to get out of this little… situation. I had no time to think about a rational plan, so I settled for jutsu. I went to knee Itachi in a place where the sun don't shine (I know, I know, it's low to do that, but hell, my ass was on the line.), but he caught my knee and threw me (rather forcibly) into a tree. I got up quickly and ran. He had just given me the chance I needed to escape and perform my jutsu.

I sprouted a large pair of eagle wings and took to the sky. My wings were an array of colors, ranging from white, to tawny, to a deep chestnut brown. I sent out a telepathic message to Akamaru, telling him to get Kiba and himself as far away from the area as possible. I also told him to try and leave the shark guy behind. I hoped to hell that Akamaru heard me, otherwise… let's just say Kiba and Akamaru wouldn't do so well. As I flew farther away from the earth, I started forming the hand signs for my jutsu as fast as I could.

"Art of sound and wind: Eagle's scream." I muttered under my breath after I finished the last hand sign.

I took in a very deep breath of air. I felt my chakra gathering in my lungs. I waited until it felt like my lungs were about to rip open and then I put one hand near my mouth and breathed out. A shrill, bone piercing, ear shattering, blood vessel bursting, skull splitting scream and a rush of razor sharp, chakra enhanced wind raced down to the earth below me. The wind cut down trees and hit the ground with a smash, leaving nothing but a crater and a whole bunch of flattened trees in its wake.

I flew back towards the ground, making my eagle wings disappear, and landing lightly on the ground, certain that I had killed, or at least maimed, the raven-haired ninja. Boy, was I wrong. Before me, stood Itachi, looking like he did before I used my jutsu. The 'eagle's scream' was the most powerful jutsu in my arsenal. The wind should have cut him to bits and/or crushed him. I could tell that that part of the jutsu hadn't worked (probably because he dodged it somehow…), but I at least expected for his ears or nose or eyes or mouth, or _something_ start bleeding from the sheer noise and pressure from the sound of my jutsu, like the victims of this particular jutsu usually did.

Stupid bastard. He must have seen what I was up to with his little eye technique… thing… and got out of the way before he could get hit with it. Damn him. I stood tall and glared at him, trying to appear fearless and strong. In reality, I was terrified. I took out more kunai and began to run towards Itachi, my intent was to kill him. I took about two steps and then found out I could not move. My legs were stuck to the ground. I looked down to see that tree root had grown around my ankles and were slowly moving higher and higher up my legs, making it harder with each passing second to move. My eyes went wide and I struggled to get free.

I looked up to see Itachi, still standing where he was before, staring at me. I paused. Was this genjutsu? That would explain why Itachi was not affected by my jutsu. I formed my hands into the proper hand sign and muttered under my breath, "Release."

When I opened my eyes, I was being carried (my body slung over Itachi's shoulder…) by the dark haired missing ninja. I growled and attempted to kick him in the stomach, but before I could, Itachi grabbed my leg and threw my body against a tree. I hit the tree so hard, I heard the tree crack, I was winded, and I coughed up blood. I groaned and sat up. Itachi was right in front of me. I jumped back slightly. Fuck, he was fast.

"Itachi, are you almost done here?" The blue shark man… thing said as he walked up beside Itachi. I thought aquatic animals weren't supposed to walk on land or breathe air or… talk… for that matter…

"Yes. Have you taken care of the other ninja?" Itachi asked the other Akatsuki member.

"Yeah. The kid and his dog won't be moving for a while." The blue man said, grinning.

My eyes widened and I hissed at the shark man, "What the _fuck_ did you do to them?"

"Don't worry, girl. They're alive… for now." He said as he smiled threateningly at me.

"Oh, fuck you." I snarled as I got up. Well, attempted to get up. I had to hold my ribs. They hurt like a bitch.

"Are you going to come quietly and cooperatively now, shorty?" The sword carrying Akatsuki member asked with a smirk.

"Shorty!? I'm tall, damn you! And no. Fuck you and fuck your organization and fuck your gay ass tampon sword thing. There is no way in hell that I am going anywhere with you." I spat angrily.

"Itachi, can't I just cut her legs off?"

"Kisame. No." Itachi muttered, "I'll take care of her."

Heh. I was screwed.

I looked up at Itachi and made the very, _very_ stupid mistake of making eye contact (it was a bad habit of mine I guess…). In an instant, the world around my turned red and black and white. It was like I was seeing everything in negative. I looked around, eyes wide. Then I spotted Itachi Uchiha. He was standing not so far away from me, staring at me with no emotion. Then, he spoke.

"In the world of the Tsukuyomi, the Nightmare Realm, I control everything. Over the next seventy-two hours, you will be put in a coffin, six feet under the ground. You won't be able to speak, scream, or make any noise. Also, your coffin will be on fire." Itachi told me in the same monotone voice he always seemed to use.

Oh fuck. In an instant, my worst nightmares came true.

* * *

**Kirathis-chan: *glomps Deidara***

**Cat: YAY! ATTACK!!!**

**Both: *huggles Kisame and Gaara***

**Kirathis-chan: Here Gaara-kun! Have some cookies!**

**Cat: *licks Kisame's face* HE TASTES LIKE FISH!**

**YEWAH! **

…

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**Once again, thank you for reading! Please review! ^_^ **

**Also, thank you to Kirathis-chan! 3 **

**A question for the readers… would you like a lemon in the future?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten! Thank you to all who have reviewed! I MADE IT TO 100!!!! Thank you all so much! Thank you to all who have put my story on their alert list and favorite list and a big, humongous thank you to all who have put me on their favorite author list. All of you are really awesome and are what keep me writing. Thanks to Kirathis-chan! She gave me some ideas for this chapter! **

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When I awoke, the first thing that crossed my mind was _'Thank the hells and the heavens…it wasn't real'_. The torture I went through… I thought it would never end. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. I was buried in the same coffin as I was before, buried under six feet of earth. On top off that, my coffin was on fire (it doesn't really make sense, does it? But nonetheless, it was a terrifying experience I never wanted to go through again and it _felt_ real…) and I was unable to make any noise at all or connect telepathically with anyone. I was mute. The three things that I feared the most happened to me while I was in 'The Nightmare Realm' of Itachi's. I now knew never to make the mistake of looking into his eyes again. Ever.

Anyways, that brief moment of relief quickly faded and was replaced with panic, as I fully realized where I was. Now, the second thing that crossed my mind was, _'Where the fucking hell am I!?'_. Then, I began to have a more than mild panic attack. I was pissed, to say the least. Now, I'm not the calmest person in the world, so I immediately sat up and tried to get off the cold, hard, metal table that I had been lying on.

I failed miserably.

As soon as I sat up, before I even got off the table, pain seared through my entire body. I clutched my side and fell _off_ the table, probably injuring myself further. I hit the floor, face first, with an audible thump and drew in a sharp breath. My arms were still wrapped around my middle. I felt as if I was going to rip into two pieces if I let go of my sides. The pain was so intense and practically unbearable. What the hell happened to me?

I took in a deep breath of stale oxygen and used my shoulders (and my forehead) to push myself into a sitting position, since I was unwilling to use my arms and take the chance of splitting myself in two (Yeah, I know, the injury wasn't really life threatening, but the pain was unreal.). I leaned against on of the metal table's legs, using it for support.

I sat on the floor, taking deep breaths, finally taking notice of my surroundings. I was in a dimly lit room made out of gray stone. The floor was a cold stone tile, the same shade of gray as the rock walls and ceilings. The furnishings were minimal, only the metal table that I had been lying on, a white curtain, and a large cabinet that covered the entire wall directly across from me was in the room. I automatically assumed that this room was the 'medical' room. The main reason being that the cabinet across from me had peeling labels on each door, some saying 'bandages', while others were adorned with peeling signs that read from 'scalpels' to 'burn cream' to 'antidotes'.

I could only assume that I was in the Akatsuki headquarters or base… thing. I let out a frustrated sigh. I should have trained more and actually listened to Tsunade. Then maybe I wouldn't be in this condition/predicament. I wouldn't even be here and Akatsuki would still be blissfully unaware of my existence. Only I had to be the stupid one and get caught. I hoped Kiba was all right. I hope someone found Kiba, took him to safety, treated his wounds, and brought him back to Konoha, where he would be safe. It was my entire fault that Kiba had to fight the shark ninja, Kisame. At least, I think the shark ninja's name was Kisame. I hoped that Kiba (and Akamaru) were still alive. I had my doubts and it only made me feel worse. While I was absorbed in my cloud of self-pity and guilt, I failed to notice a strange man emerge from the wall to my right.

"So… you're finally awake? _We almost though you had died._" Two male voices said.

I jumped a little in surprise and looked up, my yellow amber eyes meeting with another pair of bright yellow eyes. There was only one man in the room with me, even though I had heard two voices. The man in front of me was rather… strange looking. He was tall, very tall. Half of his skin was white and the other half was black. Covering his body was a giant… plant… thing, with the signature Akatsuki cloak covering the rest of him. He was gazing at me in a look that screamed he was hungry. I found it very creepy.

"Okay…" I muttered, raising my eyebrow at him.

"_If you had died, I would have had a tasty snack_…" The plant man smiled, showing me row of jagged, pointy teeth.

"You're a cannibal?" I asked. Cannibals, and, well, the general idea of cannibalism freaked me the fuck out.

The plant man just smiled dangerously at me. Well, I didn't feel safe at all. "How are you feeling?" He asked me suddenly.

"Like someone decided to pummel me and attempt to cut me in half with a bunch of really sharp and pointy trees…" I muttered, still clutching my sides together.

"Mhm… Sasori-san said that the poison would do something to that effect…" The plant man said as he bent down to look through the cupboards, "_Now to just find the antidote…_" It sounded like this strange looking man was talking to himself. I automatically assumed that he was bi-polar or something to that effect. Being a ninja was so great (sarcasm). I always got to meet new people. Sadly, the majority of them were insane. I groaned. This was idiotic.

"Here it is!" The strange man said, "_See, I told you it was here. _Yeah, yeah, I know. Let's just give it to her."

I raised my eyebrow, "Give what to me?"

"The antidote," The Akatsuki member said, but upon seeing my look of confusion, explained a little, "_We had another member inject you with a poison so you wouldn't fight back or do something… stupid, when you woke up…_"

"Uh huh…" Was my reply.

"Here. Drink this. It'll make the pain go away." The man said, holding out a vile of a clear liquid.

"Uh… no." I said, "I don't trust you."

"No? _You stupid girl, we're trying to help you_. You would feel better if you drank this."

"No." I said stubbornly, looking away from him.

"She won't take it! _I can see that_. What are we going to do?_ I know, we can…_" Then the voices got really quiet and I was unable to hear them. I turned to look at the plant man, but was startled to see him kneeling right beside me. His breath smelt of blood.

"What the fuck?!" I said, trying to scoot away from him, but he grabbed my arm and I winced. That hurt. Then, the half white and half black man pulled out a needle. I struggled to get away from him, but I was weak from pain and he was rather strong. He stabbed the needle into my arm and pushed the liquid into my bloodstream. I glared at him.

"There. _That wasn't so hard, was it?_" he asked me.

"I…" The room started to spin and I saw stars and wonderfully colored blobs dancing around. I let out a groan and slid to the floor, slowly blacking out, my hearing and sight going in and out of focus. The last thing I heard was,

"Oh dear, _it seems we used the wrong antidote…_"

* * *

I woke up later, only to hear the endings of a conversation, "You are very lucky that you got me when you did, otherwise, she would have died." I heard one voice say, monotone, "Leader-sama would not be very pleased with you…"

"_We thought it was the right antidote._" I heard another voice snap.

"Humph. Next time, leave the poisons and antidotes to me." The first voice said.

"Yes, Sasori-san." A third voice said.

"As soon as she wakes up, we'll take her to see Leader-sama, and then…" The monotone voice said, slowly getting quieter with each word.

There was more to the conversation, but I soon fell under the effects of darkness, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next time I awoke, I was alone. Thank hell. With a sigh, I sat up. The pain was gone and I felt much better than had I felt before. I looked around the room, it was the same as it was before, and nothing had changed. I got off the table and stood up, walking around the room, looking for an escape. There were no windows in the small, dimly lit room. I went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. Heh. They would need more than a lock to keep me from escaping.

I formed hand signs with my hands, expecting to poof out of the room. Instead, I just disappeared from my spot in front of my door to a spot across the room. I glared at the door and walked back towards it. I placed my hands against the stupid door and sent out a tiny spike of my chakra. It bounced backwards, meaning that the members of the Akatsuki put a barrier of some sort around the room, probably to make sure that I had no chance of escape. Fuck. I tried kicking the door open, to no avail. Damn it.

I let out a light groan and turned away from the door, walking back to the table, and lying back down on it. I then proceeded to bang the back of my head against the metal surface. I was frustrated, I was angry, I was scared, I was disappointed with myself, I was worried, and I was beginning to panic. Why did the Akatsuki even want me in the first place? Compared to all of the Akatsuki members, I was extremely weak. I had no talent in genjutsu; I wanted to go home to Konoha. I missed Ai and Airi and Lee and Sakura and Kiba and Akamaru and, as much as I hated to admit it, I was beginning to miss the large chested Hokage, Tsunade.

I thought, wondering what the hell was going to happen to me. I was terrified.

* * *

I groaned, still deep in thought. I wasn't sure how long I had been in the room, but it seemed like forever. I was bored here. I heard the door creak open and I glanced up. And guess what (or should I say who…?) I saw!? The blonde tranny I fought when I went to deliver a scroll with Airi!

"Hey, yeah. Are you awake?" The Blonde asked me.

Wow. What a stupid question. "If I wasn't awake, do you really think that I would be staring at you?" I snapped at him (it?). I was irritable and I was hungry, so I decided that I was going to piss of the blonde.

The man/woman just glared at me, "Come on, yeah. I need to take you to Leader-sama, un."

"No." I huffed.

"No, hm?" The blonde said, raising his eyebrow at me.

I snorted and glared, "I don't want to."

"You don't have a choice in the matter, yeah." The blonde said, his glare deepening.

"I don't care. I'm not going." I said, looking away from the blue-eyed blonde and staring at the ceiling.

There was a pause from the blonde, "Would you rather I carried you, hm?"

"I have my own legs, thanks." I snapped.

"Just come on, yeah. Stop making this difficult." The tranny sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Hey! If you answer this question, I'll come with you to your… er… 'Leader'…" I said, grinning to myself. I hoped this made him (it?) very, very angry.

"What, hm?" Blondie sighed.

"Are you a man or a woman?" I asked innocently.

I could practically see the vein pop out on Blondie's forehead. "Why you little-"

"I'm really not that little. I'm rather tall. Now, answer my question." I said as I cut the blonde off.

"I'm a MAN, yeah!" The blonde fumed.

"Okay, okay, no need to your panties in a twist. I'm just checking." I smirked.

"Why would you have to check, yeah?! My voice sounds like a man's! I do not look anything like a female!" Blondie snapped at me, his voice taking on a very defensive tone.

"Well, you never know. I mean, sure, you look like a man and you have a… manly voice, but you're very feminine looking, and on top of that, you could be a tranny." I explained, my lips curving into a devious smile.

Blondie's face was turning a lovely shade of red, "I'm a man, yeah. Don't ever question that again or I will make you into a lovely piece of art."

"Tch. I probably will ask again. Many times. In front of others." I said, rolling my eyes.

"You little…" Blondie fumed, as he stuck his hands in two khaki colored pouches that sat on his hips. I rolled my eyes at him and looked at the ceiling. Blonde really needed to calm down and take a joke. Seriously. "Now… let's see how you like it when you become a piece of my art, yeah!"

I glanced over to the blonde, raising an eyebrow. When I noticed what he was holding, my eyes widened. Blondie was holding four artfully crafted clay birds, the same kind that blew up when we had fought previously. Oh shit. "Uh…" Was all I said.

Blondie smirked victoriously, "Not so tough now, hm?"

"Shut up. Let's just go and meet the Leader." I huffed, getting off of the metal table and walking towards the door quickly. I didn't want to admit that the threat of being blown up scared me shitless. I was too proud for that.

"Heh, I knew you'd see it my way, yeah." The blonde man said, following me out into the hallway.

I stopped and glared scathingly at the man. Stupid human. "Well, lead the way."

"Follow me, un." Blondie said, stepping in front of me and walking down the stone hallway.

The two of us walked. And we walked. And we walked some more. Neither of us exchanged and words or attempted to strike up a conversation, so I decided to look up at the ceiling while we walked. I was beginning to think that we would never get to our destination and that Blondie over here had no idea where the hell about where we were going, when Blondie spoke, "We're here, yeah."

I looked away from the ceiling to see that I was in a very large room, also made out of the same stone that the hall was and the room I woke up in was made of. I must have been really zoned out, because I didn't remember going through any doors. Oh well. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. I was scared. I wasn't going to admit that to anyone though.

"Thank you, Deidara. You can leave now." A menacing voice from the shadows said.

I looked over to where the voice came from, but I saw nothing. The room was covered in shadows; the only light in the room was coming from a candle that was in the center of the room, on a small, rickety table. I walked up to the table, still staring at the candle. The flame flickered. I looked up from the candle and was met with the terrifying gaze of a man with spiky orange hair. He had many piercings all over his face and cold, gray ringed eyes. I froze.

The man had suddenly appeared. I had sensed nothing of him before hand, but now, he was here, directly in front of me, right across the table. It was very scary. I stared at him. He stared at me. Then he spoke, "I am the Leader of this organization. You may refer to me as 'Leader-sama'."

I glared at him. "Okay."

"I assume you wonder why you are here…" The Leader started.

"Yes." I said, trying hard not to make my voice shake. This man… he scared me. His aura was so deadly. He oozed power. I was absolutely terrified of him.

"We have taken note of your… abilities…" The mysterious man said.

"Abilities?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Well… I have been informed that you seem to have the ability to… change into anything at will, without using much, if any, of your chakra, which leads me to believe that you are a shape shifter. Is that correct?"

I glared at him. I wasn't going to give this man any more information about myself than what was needed. On top of that, I kind of wanted to piss him off, just to see his reaction. "Maybe…"

There was a pause. "Answer the question." The man's voice was commanding and icy cold.

"Fine. You are right." I said, looking at the table with the candle on it, I didn't want to press my luck, "I am a shape shifter."

"I see…" I could tell that the man was thinking by his tone of voice, "Prove it."

"Uh… prove what?" I asked.

"That you are a shape shifter." The man said.

"Why?" I snapped.

"So I can make sure that you are not lying." The orange haired man said in a very threatening voice.

I gave the man a weird look, trying (and succeeding) in masking my fear, "Fine. Anything particular you want me to change into?"

He raised his eyebrow at me, "No."

"Ugh. Fine." I hissed. I wasn't in a good mood now. I was scared. I was tired. And I was kind of hungry. On top of that, I wanted to go home.

I sighed and transformed myself into a large tiger. I growled at the man and then I transformed back into myself. "Is that good?" I said tersely.

"That will do for now… how is it that you came to reside in the Leaf village?" The pierced man asked.

"Long story short, they found me and I agreed to become a ninja of Konoha." I said quickly.

"I see… now, what is your name?" He asked me.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly.

"I asked, what. Is. Your. Name?" The scary man asked, pronouncing his words very clearly.

"You don't know it?" I asked, puzzled. How could they have found me if they didn't know my name?

The man simply glared at me, "Don't make me ask the question again."

"Fine. My name is Makita…" I grumbled.

"Last name?" The man asked.

"Amaterasu." I hissed in annoyance.

"Mhm…" The strange man said. I couldn't help but admit to myself that this orange haired man was very attractive. Not my type, but hell, I admired his looks.

"So…" I said, rocking back on my heels, it was a nervous gesture, "Why am I here?"

"You are here because we wish to recruit you as a subordinate of Akatsuki." The man explained.

"Uh huh. I see. Well, no." I said back. I wasn't going to make anything easy on this asshole and I really didn't want to give up the freedom I had.

"No?" The man asked simply, raising a single orange eyebrow.

"Yeah. No. I really don't want to join. I mean I can do much better things with my time than stay here and be ordered around." I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You weren't given a choice." The man replied.

"Well, I don't give a shit. I said I don't want to join. You can't make me." I snorted.

"I can make you join…" The man trailed off. That struck a chord. I was nervous now.

"Oh really? Then please, enlighten me." I said, keeping up my act of not being afraid.

"We'll just kill you if you refuse to join." The man said in a deadly calm voice.

"Death please! Bring it on." I smirked at him, hoping to all that is holy that he would not call my bluff.

"I had a feeling you'd say that… my other bargaining chip is this…" The man said as he gestured somewhere towards the back of the room.

I raised my eyebrow. He must really want me to join. I looked towards where the man was gesturing. In the dim light of the candle, I slowly made out the image of Blondie. He was half dragging, half carrying a familiar brown haired, brown-eyed ANBU ninja. It was Airi. My eyes widened and I had to bite back a shocked gasp. Airi was struggling weakly, trying to get away from the blonde Akatsuki member. She was gagged and her wrists were tied together tightly, cutting off the circulation to her hands. Her feet were tied together very tightly as well, circulation being cut off from her feet. She has a black eye, which was swelling up, and numerous cuts covering her arms and legs and face. The skin and muscle on her right elbow was completely gone. I could tell that it had been burnt away, just showing a pale, white bone. It made me sick. Her shirt had a large cut in it and was blood stained. Blood was trickling from a hair covered, deep, gash underneath her hairline. The blood ran down and soaked her face, her hair, and her clothing. Overall, Airi looked like she was an inch away from death. She was covered in blood, dirt, and hell knows what else.

"What the fuck?" I growled, fear melting away and being replaced with a vicious anger. How dare they even _touch_ Airi? She was like MY little sister!

"If you decide not to join, we will kill her." The man with many piercings told me.

Words could not describe how angry I was. I clenched my fists and opened them again, trying to control my temper. How the hell did they even know Airi was important to me, let alone where to find her? "I bet you're wondering how we found her, as well as how we found you…" The orange haired man said.

"Yes." I muttered, glaring holes into the floor. I couldn't look at anyone right now.

"When you fought with Deidara and Sasori, they took note of your relationship. Sasori poisoned this girl with a special poison that allows him to take control of her body and track her. We found her in the Konoha hospital, kidnapped her, took a look into her mind, and found more information, not very much, for that matter, on you."

"How dare you?" I snarled at him.

"What did you expect?" The man asked.

I didn't answer. Airi. She was important to me. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. "If I agree to join… what happens to Airi?"

"We will erase her memory, both of you and the events that happened while she was in the presence of any of the Akatsuki. Then we will get an antidote for the poison Sasori used on her, we will heal all of her injuries, and we will let her go free."

"And if I don't agree to join…?" I asked, bracing myself for the worst.

"We will torture her to death, in the most brutal ways possible, and we will make you watch, before we torture you to death as well." He explained to me.

I sighed. On one hand, I wouldn't die that quickly if I went through the torture. I had a high pain tolerance, but Airi didn't and she would die much faster than I would. There would be no possible way for me to even save Airi. There were, what, ten Akatsuki members? They were all high jounin level and above, while I was only a chunin. I could handle going through torture and dying, but I didn't want to put Airi through that. But… I didn't want to lose Airi. She was someone I had grown to love and care for. I didn't want to have to cut my ties with her. I was a selfish person. I wanted to keep Airi as my best friend. I looked up at the man with the gray, ringed eyes. I knew what I had to do.

"I'll join…" I muttered in defeat.

"Good… now, as you will be a direct subordinate of the Akatsuki, you will be shadowing one of our members. You will, technically, be their assistant. You are to listen to them and assist them in missions. As soon as I find which partner you would work the best with, you will shadow them. For now, Deidara will fill you in of all the rules of the Akatsuki. If one of the members dies, you will be one of the first picked to join, seeing as you are like Tobi. He's shadowing Zetsu."

"Fine." I answered.

I looked over at Airi and whispered into her mind, _'Airi… I love you… you're like the little sister I never had. I gave up our friendship to save you. I… I don't want anything bad to happen to you… if it did, I would just die. You can understand that, can't you?'_

Airi looked at me. I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Maki-chan… I love you too. Be safe."

I nodded. "I will. You too."

My heart hurt. I had to bite back the anger and the sadness I felt and fight to keep my face straight. As of now, I was a subordinate to the Akatsuki. It felt like I was a little kid who lost their favorite blanket and knew that they would never get it back. I lost my best friend. I just lost my non-biological sister. And I would never get to see her again. Even if I did, she wouldn't know who I was.

"Makita, follow Deidara. He will show you around the base and to your sleeping quarters."

Deidara walked towards the door. I followed him. I looked back over my shoulder. Airi gave me a small, encouraging smile. I could see the pain behind it. I bit my lip and looked away. Deidara and I walked down the cold hallway. I was staring at the ground. I was disappointed in myself, but at least Airi would be safe.

* * *

The Leader of the Akatsuki looked down at the pathetic excuse of a ninja before him. Airi. She was apparently important to Makita, the newest subordinate of the Akatsuki. He had no idea why. She was pathetic. She was weak. She was shy. She was gullible. Airi would be an easy kill, one that wasn't even worth mentioning.

The Leader, who also went by the name of Pein, stood in front of the girl. She was breathing heavily. Pein knew she didn't have long to live. With the torture Airi went through, courtesy of Deidara and Sasori, it was obvious that she wouldn't live more than a day without medical attention.

Pein had lied to Makita. There was no way in hell that he would have let Airi go anyways. It was too much effort and she knew too much. It was better if she was dead. All would be good. Makita would be in Akatsuki, not knowing that Airi was actually dead, Airi would be eliminated, and Madara would be happy.

"Do I get to… leave…now?" The brown-eyed girl asked pathetically.

"No." Pein said unemotionally.

"N-no?" She stuttered.

"No. You will die here." The Akatsuki leader said, brandishing a deadly looking sword that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Airi's eyes widened and she scrambled to get up, but fell down, wincing in pain, "W-what? N-n-no! I-"

Pein kicked Airi in the stomach. She flew three feet in the air and hit the ground with a sickening crunch. She groaned in pain. Tears had formed in her eyes and got up on to her knees. She looked up at the orange haired man in fear. "Goodbye." Pein said.

"P-p-please! N-" Airi started, but was cut off by a sword going right through her throat. A shocked look took over Airi's features. Tears were running freely down her face.

Pein stood there, watching Airi's reaction. Then, he ripped out the sword. Blood flowed freely from Airi's throat. She gurgled, trying to speak, but it was impossible. She fell onto her side and grasped her throat. She couldn't breathe. Blood began to pool around her as she choked on her blood, her face turning blue. Pein stared at her for a few minuets before turning around and walking away.

"Zetsu, clean that up when it's dead." Pein said coldly.

"Yes Leader-sama…" The mysterious plant man said as he emerged from the wall.

* * *

Soon, Deidara and I were in a brightly lit kitchen. There was a stove and a fridge and many cupboards. The kitchen was completely not what I expected. It was a drastic difference from the dark hallways and dimly lit rooms I had previously been in. I blinked. That was fast. I sighed. I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do. Life sucks. I hoped Airi would be okay.

"So… welcome to the Akatsuki, yeah." Deidara said.

I sighed and sat down on a stool that was near the island in the kitchen, "Thanks, I guess."

"You'll meet the other members soon, hm. Most of them are on a mission or back at the main base, so here at this hideout it just you, me, Sasori-danna, Leader-sama, and Zetsu, yeah."

"Great…" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Well you're sure talkative, aren't you, hm?" Deidara said sarcastically.

"I'm just not really happy about being here, okay? So shut the fuck up." I hissed.

Deidara snorted, "Temper, temper. You are a subordinate, so you have to show respect to the full members, hm."

I slammed my hands against the island and stood up, "Shut the fuck up, okay? I'm not in the mood to be bossed around."

"Jeez woman, calm down. There's nothing you can do about it, yeah." Deidara said.

"Ugh. It's Makita." I sighed, sitting down again.

Deidara smirked and I blinked. Wow. Did I ever mention that Deidara was actually really attractive? No, I hadn't and I wasn't going to admit that to him. I could tell that he was the type of guy who had an enormous ego. I wasn't going to be the girl (or man… who knows if Deidara rolls that way…) to make his head swell a couple of sizes. So far, the guys in Akatsuki were hot. I have to stop thinking that. I shook my head.

"Anyways… what am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"Leader-sama will probably call you to his office later and explain your job in more detail…" Deidara explained.

"Didn't he say that you were supposed to do that?" I snorted.

"Yeah, but Leader-sama always meets with new members anyways. You hungry, yeah?" Deidara said.

Truthfully, I was starving, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. Seeing Airi like that made me feel sick and lose my appetite completely. "No."

Deidara was in the fridge and when he turned around, I saw that he had multiple stalks of celery shoved in his mouth. "Ayreh yeww shueer?"

"What?" I snapped.

Deidara chewed the crunchy celery noisily, swallowed the celery and said, "Are you sure your not hungry, yeah?"

"Yes. I'm tired. The Leader said something about sleeping quarters…?" I asked, trailing off.

"Oh, yeah. This way, hm." Deidara said, walking out of the kitchen and back down the never ending dimly lit hallway.

Deidara and I walked for what felt like an eternity, him explaining the rules and how I was supposed to behave and blah, blah, blah. I wasn't listening. I had drowned out his voice after the first thirty seconds of him speaking with my own thoughts. Ugh. I was not happy.

"… And that's why there aren't many rooms here." Deidara said, a note of finality in his voice.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my own thoughts.

"You weren't listening to me, were you?" He asked, exasperated.

"Not at all." I smiled darkly at him. I hoped he was annoyed.

"Well, I was saying that this 'hideout' isn't the main base, hm. This is a 'just in case' base. We hardly ever use it. That's why nothing is really destroyed yet, but members do use it to rest up or stay here when they're on a mission though, un." Deidara explained.

"Uh huh. And I should care why…?" I asked.

"Because you will probably be moving to the main base in the next week or so. For now you're sleeping here, yeah." Deidara said as he opened a door.

I raised my eyebrow and peeked into the room. It was small and dusty. The only piece of furniture in the room was a small, single bed. The walls and the floor looked like they were carved out of the rock (which they probably were…) and the room was dimly lit. "It looks wonderful." I said sarcastically.

Deidara snorted and began to walk away, "My room is the next one to the right of your room. 'Night, yeah."

I didn't say anything. I walked into my shit hole of a room and slammed the door. I walked to the bed and plopped onto it. I felt as if the bed could break any minute. Joy. I sighed and looked at the ceiling. The only good part about being here was that Airi was safe. I didn't want to be in Akatsuki and I was pretty pissed that I was. But you know what they say, when life gives you lemons, take the lemons and squirt the juice in your enemies' eyes. I was going to do just that. I was going to make the other members lives' a living hell. Well, as hell like as I could get away with.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Sorry it took so long to get out! School started. Anyways, I hope you liked it! Please review! :)  
How old would Kakuzu be? Hidan? Madara? I need to know, so if anyone does, please tell me. Thank you!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven! Sorry it took forever! Work, school, exams, and musical rehearsals have consumed most of my time. Thanks to all the reviews, alerts, and favourites! It means a lot! Enjoy the chapter!**

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I was currently sitting on one of Deidara's clay birds, flying through the air, heading back to the Akatsuki's main base. Deidara, Sasori, and I were the only members/subordinates left at the 'extra' Akatsuki base. I was annoyed. We had already been flying for six hours. The first four and a half hours were fine. They were nice and quiet, but the last hour and a half had been hell. Deidara and the fat, ugly man thing, which I now know as Akasuna no Sasori, had been arguing about what was art and what wasn't. The conversation, in short, went (and was still going on…) like this:

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal."

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal."

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal."

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal"

"Art is fleeting."

"Art is eternal."

"ART IS FLEETING!"

"ART IS ETERNAL!"

"WOULD YOU BOTH SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" I screeched.

There was a pause and both of the Akatsuki members turned to look at me. Deidara smirked, "Why? Are we bothering you, yeah?"

"Yes. Very much." I snapped. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, due to the fact that explosions would go off every few minutes. When I confronted the resident terrorist bomber (Deidara…), he played dumb and said that it wasn't him, but I knew the stupid fucker was lying.

"What do you think of art, Makita-san?" Sasori asked me, cutting off Deidara before he could say anything else.

"Art?" I snorted, "I don't really have an opinion on art."

Deidara raised his eyebrow at me, "Everyone has an opinion, and you, by far, are the most opinionated woman I've ever met, hm."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like art and I don't pay attention to it. I have better things to do with my time than waste it on something stupid."

Deidara and Sasori's eyes both narrowed. "What do you mean, 'waste your time on something stupid?'" Sasori asked.

I huffed, "I just don't like art, okay? I don't have much time for anything beside training and now that I'm in this god forsaken organization, I doubt I'll be able to actually do anything I want to do."

"Stop complaining. It was your choice to join." Sasori said in his usual monotone voice.

I glared, "Shut up."

"You should show respect to your higher ups, yeah. Speaking like that to us full members could get you into trouble." Deidara smirked.

"Does it really look like I give a shit?" I snorted.

Sasori sighed and walked the farthest possible distance away from Deidara and me. I could tell that Sasori was sensing a massive argument that could possibly end in blood. "Well you should, hm. Other members in Akatsuki are not as _nice_ and_ tolerant_ as Sasori and I are, yeah."

"Sasori, maybe, but you?" I snorted, "You tolerant and nice? HA! Don't make me laugh."

"I'm probably one of the nicest Akatsuki members, yeah." Deidara glared.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that Blondie. I sure hope to hell that we're not the only girls in Akatsuki, otherwise, things will get nasty…" I trailed off.

"Did you just call me a girl again, yeah?" Deidara seethed.

"Yes." I said with a devious smile, "Is that a problem?"

Deidara glared, "I do have a problem with that, hm. What did I tell you that I would do if you ever called me a girl again, yeah?"

"Kill me?" I said, my devious smile growing wider. I was digging my own grave at the moment, but hell. I didn't care. I wanted to pick a fight with Blondie. He was grating my very last nerve.

"Yeah, hm." Deidara said, sticking his hands into his pockets and fishing out two handfuls of clay.

"Bring it bitch." I said.

Deidara growled at me. I could see his hands working furiously to form some sort of exploding clay creature. I just stood there, observing his work. Deidara looked up at me with a dark smile. The next second, there were six clay birds racing towards me. I just smiled at Deidara and flung myself off the giant flying clay bird that was carrying the two Akatsuki members and me. I saw the look of shock appear on Deidara and Sasori's faces before I completely disappeared over the edge and began my quick descent to the ground.

* * *

Wind rushed all around me, pounding at my back forcefully and whipping my hair around violently. It felt great. I was falling quickly; my guess was about one hundred meters per second. I could faintly hear Deidara yelling at me for being so stupid. I saw that the clay bird was now diving towards the ground, speeding to catch up with me. Heh. In reality, Deidara was the stupid one. I didn't need saving. I shifted into a giant black raven and shot upwards, back towards Deidara and Sasori. Deidara quickly pulled the clay bird out of its quick dive and levelled it. I transformed back into my normal form when I was a few feet above Deidara's clay creation. I landed on the clay bird with a 'thump'. Both Deidara and Sasori whirled around and glared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You cause too much trouble." Sasori sighed.

"No I don't. Deidara's just an ass." I snapped.

"Oh grow up, yeah. You're the immature one here." Deidara spat.

I glared, "You're the one who gets pissy when I call you a girl."

"Because I'm not a girl, yeah! What if I start calling you a man?" Deidara said menacingly.

I snorted, "Then it just proves I have more testosterone and that I am much more of a man than you are."

"Why you little bitch, yeah!" Deidara

"Thank you, Deidara. I am a bitch and I am glad that someone finally took notice to my amazing skill." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Why don't the both of you shut up and stop arguing? You're testing my patience." Sasori said with an annoyed sigh.

Deidara huffed and turned away from me. I grinned darkly. I had totally won that argument. The rest of the ride to the Akatsuki's main base was silent.

* * *

"Hey, Makita, wake up, yeah." I heard someone call.

I hissed and rolled over. "No."

"Makita, seriously, wake up, hm, or I'll blow you to smithereens..."

"Heh… you said blow…" I mumbled sleepily.

"Can I just blow her up? Please Sasori-danna, hm?" I heard the person, whom I assumed was Blondie.

"No. Just pick her up. She's practically half-dead when she's asleep anyways." I heard Sasori answer.

"Shut up…" I mumbled.

"See? She can walk perfectly fine if she can talk." Deidara shot back at Sasori.

"I think she's sleep talking…" Sasori trailed off.

"Ugh. Fine." I heard Blondie say.

There was a pause and I almost fell back into the wonderful black abyss of dreamland, when rough hands gave my side a harsh push. I rolled off the giant clay bird and my eyes flew open. I hit the ground before I had enough time to brace myself. Air whooshed out of my lungs. I was totally winded.

"What the hell?" I groaned, rubbing the back of my head, while taking in deep breathes of oxygen. I twitched slightly. I was now officially in a really pissy mood. Oh well, I guess Deidara and Sasori will have to deal with me. It's their fault anyways. Well, mostly Deidara's, but I chose to blame both of them. I looked around and I blinked. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep for, but as I studied my surroundings, I guessed I had been asleep for a long time. We were in an entire different area. There were a few trees and a large pile of rocks a few feet away from where I had been rudely awoken.

"You wouldn't wake up," Sasori said in a bored voice. "Let's go. You have to meet the other members and be given the official rules and tour of Akatsuki."

"But I don't want to…" I trailed off.

"Just co-operate, yeah." Deidara huffed as he and Sasori walked towards what I assumed was the entrance to the main base.

"Since when have I ever been co-operative?" I asked, following behind the two Akatsuki members.

"Never, yeah." Deidara muttered.

"Exactly." I said, smiling deviously.

"Don't even think about trying to run away or do anything stupid. At the main base, we're not the only two members you have to worry about. The others here will not be as tolerant." Sasori said in a monotone voice.

I rolled my eyes and look up, towards the sky, "Uh huh. Whatever you say." The skies were dark and grey, the clouds above rolling around violently, threatening to let the heavens burst and let a torrent of rain fall down upon us. I assumed we were somewhere in or near Amegakure. Great. I hated the rain.

The other two members were silent. I looked towards them to see why and I quickly avoided crashing into Deidara's back. I skirted around him and stood beside him. Deidara's eyes were closed in concentration and a second later; a small opening became visible in the pile of rocks. I saw an orange head pop out of the opening.

"DEIDARA-SENPAI! SASORI-SAMA! THE ENTRANCE IS OVER HERE!" The orange head yelled.

"Shut up Tobi! Others might hear you!" Deidara hissed. I could practically see the vein pop up in Deidara's forehead. I was impressed. Someone named Tobi had the ability to annoy the blonde bomber more than I did.

Deidara and Sasori walked quickly to what I assumed was the entrance, with me following behind. Sasori jumped through the small three feet by three feet hole in the rock. I was kind of surprised. I mean, no offence to Sasori, but he's huge. I looked at Deidara, who was about to jump into the hole. Deidara stopped, looked at me, and said, "You go first, yeah."

I raised my eyebrow, "Why?"

"I don't trust you, hm." Deidara stated.

I snorted, "Whatever."

I slipped through the hole and landed gracefully in a crouch. I quickly stood and moved out of the way of the incoming Deidara. A few seconds after Deidara landed, the hole that let us enter the Akatsuki main base closed up, cutting out the outside world. I sighed and looked at the man with the orange mask. He was staring at me.

I raised my eyebrow and snapped, "What?

"Nothing! Tobi is just really excited to have another subordinate around! We'll be great friends, right? Right?" The man, who I assumed was Tobi, said.

I paused and stared at him for a few seconds, before cautiously saying, "Okay…"

"YAY!" Tobi said, closing the short distance between us quickly and engulfing me in a giant hug.

"Get the fuck off of me." I growled. I didn't appreciate getting touched, especially hugged, by someone I didn't know. And I was still kind of pissed off about being woken up so rudely.

"B-b-but Tobi is a good boy!" The man yelled, hugging me tighter and still not letting go.

I looked at Deidara; my face screaming 'is this for real?' Deidara nodded, snorted, and tried not to laugh at my current predicament. "Let. Go. _Now_." I hissed.

"Tobi is sorry of he made Maki-chan mad! Tobi was just excited that he has a new friend!" Tobi said, letting go of me.

"I'm not your friend. Don't touch me again." I glared, walking to stand beside Deidara.

I heard the man whimper and I looked back over my shoulder. Tobi was standing there, his body language saying that he was emotionally hurt. "B-b-b-but Tobi t-t-thought t-that Maki-chan would be Tobi's n-new f-friend!"

I blinked. Had I just made a grown man cry? My first reaction was to burst into laughter… and that was exactly what I did. "What the fuck, man?" I said, giggling, "Are you _crying_!? How old are you? Man the fuck up!"

"Why is Ma-chan so mean to Tobi!?" The masked man cried.

I stopped my laughter and glared darkly, "Don't call me Ma-chan. Or Maki-chan. My name is Makita. And I'm not mean. I'm simply annoyed."

"Come on Makita-san. I need to report to Leader-sama and show you around, hm." Deidara cut in, walking away from Tobi, down the hallway, with me following.

"Where'd Sasori go?" I asked, realizing that the scorpion like Akatsuki member was no longer with us.

"He probably already went to report to Leader-sama, yeah." Deidara replied.

"I see… So… Deidara-san… is Tobi always like that?" I questioned.

"Yeah. That kid is seriously annoying. Maybe now that you're around, he'll stop bothering me so much." Deidara muttered.

"HA! He bothers you? I hope to hell that he doesn't stop that. He seems to annoy you more than I do…" I smirked.

"You're a bitch, you know that, right, yeah?" Deidara sighed.

"Yes. I know." I grinned. We were both silent. I looked around the hallway. The walls were carved out of stone, kind of like the previous hideout I was in, but it was not as dark. There were unseen lights or something that let light come down from the ceiling, illuminating the hallway. The floors were also made of stone, but the centre was covered by a deep red carpet with two dark grey, almost black, strips of stone on either side. There were doors here and there. The doors were made out of a rich, dark brown wood. The temperature was cool.

I turned my head towards Deidara and asked, "So, what am I supposed to do when meeting with the Leader?"

"Say nothing unless Leader-sama speaks directly to you first. He will probably give you directions on what to do and who you will possibly be paired off with, yeah. Other than that, stay silent. I know it will be hard for you not to run your mouth off, but just shut it for about ten minutes, okay hm?" Deidara instructed.

I scoffed, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

"Makita-san," Deidara said seriously, "You can't be rude to the other members like you are to me. The only reason you're not dead is because you didn't directly bother Sasori-danna and Leader-sama ordered me not to kill you. Other members will not hesitate to kill you if you annoy them too much."

I stared at Deidara, while letting a slow smile creep on my lips, "You sound _worried_, Deidara-chan…"

Deidara glared at me and my smile grew wider, "Shut up, yeah."

"Have I grown on you?" I asked, leaning in close towards Deidara.

"No. You're annoying as hell." Deidara snapped back.

"Then why do you sound so worried?" I grinned.

"I'm not worried. I'm just warning you, yeah." Deidara hissed.

"But why?" I asked innocently.

"We're here." Deidara said, stopping before a normal looking door.

"'Kay. Let's just get this over with. I'm tired." I muttered.

Deidara knocked quickly and waited a few seconds before the commanding voice of the Akatsuki Leader called out a quiet, "Come in."

Deidara opened the door and stepped quickly through it, me following quickly behind.

* * *

"And this is where the living room is where Tobi and the other members just sit around!" An excited Tobi said while jumping around the room.

After the meeting with the Leader, I had got stuck with Tobi giving me a tour of the hideout. The Leader didn't really say anything to me when I went in the 'office' with Deidara. Leader just told me that he will evaluate my skills soon and that I will be shadowing a guy named Ka… something (I couldn't remember the name… I zoned out and wasn't listening to the Leader when he was talking to me…) for now. Joy. I was also informed that I was not allowed to start fights with other members unless we were training. No killing and/or maiming were allowed either. Darn. So now, I was stuck with Tobi for who knows how long because the one guy I had to shadow was on a mission and Sasori and Deidara had to go on another, different mission. Apparently it was just Tobi, the Leader, the Leader's partner, Konan, and I in the hideout.

"How wonderful…" I muttered, annoyed, while looking around the stone room with multiple couches and other chairs crammed into it. Some couches were half broken, while others looked fully intact. There was a large bookcase on the far left side on the back wall of the living room. The bookcase was filled with different books, scrolls, and papers, among other things.

"So what does Maki-chan think of the hideout?" Tobi asked, leaning in towards me.

"It's fine." I muttered. I had given up trying to get Tobi to stop calling me 'Maki-chan' after the first three hours. The stupid ass just didn't listen.

"Just fine!? Tobi thinks it's great!" The hyperactive man said excitedly.

"Good for you." I said, my eye twitching. This kid was annoying as hell.

"Why doesn't Maki-chan like the hideout?" Tobi asked, leaning in even closer.

"I said it's fine Tobi." I glared at him, while taking a step away from the masked man.

"But Tobi can tell that Maki-chan doesn't like it! Why not?" Tobi said, closing the distance that I had just created.

I let out a frustrated sigh and began walking away from Tobi, "Stop bothering me."

"But Tobi wants to know what's wrong!" Tobi said, following me closely.

"Ugh! I don't like he hideout because I hate the people who live here and it's not home! Now leave me the fuck alone!" I seethed.

"It's okay Maki-chan! It'll get better!" Tobi said, throwing his arms around me in a hug.

Did this kid NOT get the point of me wanting to be alone and me NOT wanting to be touched?

"Let. Go. NOW." I hissed.

"But Tobi think Maki-chan needs hugs!" Tobi said, hugging me tighter.

Oh, fuck what the Leader said. I grabbed Tobi's arm and threw him into a wall, hearing a very loud crack. Then, I walked quickly out of the living room.

"Ow… Maki-chan, why would you do something so mean to Tobi?" I heard the masked man groan.

I huffed and kept walking briskly down the hallway. I hadn't really being paying attention to Tobi when he was telling me about the layout of the hideout, so I had no clue where I was walking right now. All I knew is that I had to get away from Tobi, or else I would kill him. I hated being here. I wanted to go home to Konoha.

"Fuck you Kakuzu. If you didn't make me go on that fucking dumb ass bounty, I could have done another fucking ritual and my fucking head wouldn't have had to be sown back on."

I raised my eyebrow. Other members? Great…

"Your rituals take too long, Hidan. And this bounty had a good sum of money attached to it. So stop complaining." Another man growled.

Hm… The names sounded familiar to me…

"Oh, fuck off. Money isn't the most important thing in the world, jackass."

"Money is much more important than your religion."

I turned the corner and saw two of the Akatsuki members. My anger level spiked to dangerous levels and I glared darkly as I remembered who they were. They were the stupid fuckers that stole my coffin and left me to die two years ago. They were going to pay…

* * *

**And that was chapter eleven! I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews would be nice! Hm… a question to you lovely readers… do you guys want this story to have a happy ending or a sad ending? Thanks! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve! Sorry it took so long to get out. Rehearsals, work, school, life, and many other hectic occasions make it difficult to write. Thank you to all who review, favourite, and alert my story! It means the world to me and makes me want to update ASAP! Thank you all again! As a warning, this chapter contains a lot of profanity/swearing/words that are highly inappropriate, because Hidan is in this chapter a lot! And Makita doesn't like Hidan… :D Enjoy the chapter!!!**

* * *

"You little fucking whore! This is your fucking fault!" The tied up Hidan said.

"Shut the hell up, asshole. You shouldn't have stolen my fucking coffin in the first place!" I snarled, struggling to get out of the tight black tentacles that were wrapped around me.

"Bitch! That was more than two fucking years ago!" Hidan shot back menacingly as a thick trail of dark, crimson blood slid down his face.

"I can hold a grudge for a long time, fuckface!" I hissed angrily.

"When I fucking get out of this, I'm going to fucking sacrifice you to my God. I'll cause you so much fucking pain, you'll with you were fucking dead." Hidan threatened.

"Ha! You couldn't fucking kill me even if you tried! You're too much of a fucking pussy." I laughed back at the religious man.

"You're a bitch." Hidan snapped.

"You're an asshole." I retorted.

"Whore." Hidan glared at me.

"Cunt." I glared back.

"Carpet muncher."

"Fucktard."

"Slut bag."

"Douchemonger."

"Fuck nugget."

"Sleaze Bag."

"Cock rocket."

"Weak sauce."

"Shit bag."

"Stupid cock sucking mother fucking s-"

"Would you both shut up?" Kakuzu said, cutting me off, and glaring at Hidan and me as he walked back into the room.

Both Hidan and I glared at the masked man and said, "Stay the fuck out of this."

As I'm sure everyone can tell, as soon as I saw Hidan and Kakuzu, the fucking bastards, I went into a blind, white-hot rage and attacked. I transformed into a giant lion and almost ripped Hidan's arm off. I also got some really nice, deep scratches (thanks to my wonderful claws!) on the left side of Hidan's face and multiple bite marks all along his torso. The wounds were still oozing blood. Hey, when you have no weapons and you're a shape shifter, you use what you got. Hurting that stupid religious fucker was the highlight of my day. Sadly, I did not remain uninjured. Hidan got multiple, deep cuts along my arms and my back, as well as cutting my lip wide open and giving me a nice head wound with that damn scythe of his.

Kakuzu was the smart one, he got out of my way when I attacked and pretty much just watched Hidan and I fight. Kakuzu didn't do anything until Hidan and I were almost out of chakra and Kakuzu got annoyed with watching us. So, Kakuzu then separated us and tied us up with his creepy black tentacles. Kakuzu had dragged us to the Leader's office and then left to go and find the Leader so we could get punished for fighting, but now Kakuzu was back. The fight had taken place about three hours ago and now, Hidan and I were much more irritable than before and still tied up. Sure, I could shape shift my way out of this, but I wasn't in the mood to fight Kakuzu or be raped by his tentacles. Now that I think about it, I should be angrier with Kakuzu. Kakuzu was the one who wanted my coffin in the first place, but Hidan was just a bigger asshole. And Hidan's asshole-ness, along with the fact that he stole my coffin and made a very loud show about it, overruled Kakuzu's stoic behaviour and made him… not as bad as Hidan, but that still doesn't mean that I'm not going to hold a grudge.

"Can you let your tentacles get off of me now? I can't feel my body." I asked hotly, while glaring at Kakuzu.

"No." Kakuzu said, not looking at me.

"Why the fuck not you stupid fucker?" Hidan yelled at his partner.

"Leader-sama will be here soon to administer punishment." Kakuzu replied.

"This is so fucking stupid." I muttered.

"It's your fault for attacking." Kakuzu told me.

"No. It's your fault. You were the one who stole my coffin." I snapped back irritably.

"It's your fault for holding a grudge" Kakuzu glared at me.

"I want the money from my coffin." I hissed.

"What do you mean?" Kakuzu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You obviously sold my coffin. I want a share, if not all, of the money you received from selling it." I said.

"Fuck off. The money is mine." Kakuzu growled angrily.

"Technically, it's mine. It was my coffin." I said, eyes narrowing.

"Well we thought you were dead, so it doesn't count." Kakuzu sighed, annoyed.

"Why not?" I questioned, seething on the inside. The money for my coffin was MINE.

"You're not going to fucking win this argument, bitch." Hidan cut in.

"And why the fuck not?" I snapped.

"Kakuzu fucking loves money more than fucking life." Hidan shot back at me.

"It's rightfully mine, asshole." I huffed.

"Well, welcome to Akatsuki, you goddamn bitch. Nothing here is fucking rightful, or legal, for that matter." Hidan explained slowly to me, speaking as if he were talking to a five year old.

"I'm not a fucking child, you ass wipe. I know what the Akatsuki is about." I hissed.

"Then stop making such a big deal about your fucking coffin and the fucking money. Money is a bunch of worthless bullshit anyways. Religion is where it's fucking at."

"I'm an atheist." I sighed. I was getting tired of arguing with people who are too stupid to see that I was right.

"HA! You're a fucking heathen! I hope you have a great time in hell, bitch." Hidan laughed.

"Well I'll probably be seeing you there, fuck face." I retorted.

Hidan burst into laughter, "I'm immortal, bitch! You can't kill me!"

I snorted, "Well then, if that's the case then I s-"

"Shut up. Both of you." I heard the cold, dangerous voice of the Leader of the Akatsuki echo around the room.

I shut up immediately, but Hidan kept running his mouth off, but this time, the verbal abuse was directed at the Leader instead of me, "What the fuck? I was having a fucking conversation with this bitch over here."

"Hidan, be quiet." The Leader said coldly.

Hidan just snorted and rolled his eyes, "Fuck. Whatever."

"Kakuzu had informed me that the two of you were fighting…" The Leader said, looking at our obvious wounds, obviously not impressed by our behaviour. "For that, the both of you will be punished. Rule breaking is not tolerated in Akatsuki, but because this is your first offence Makita, you will be let of easier… Hidan… since this is not your first offence, you will be dealt with more severely…"

"Throw whatever the fuck you want at me." Hidan smirked, "It's not like I can die."

"You'll want to after this." Pein said monotonously. "Kakuzu, please take Hidan to his room. I'll deal with him later. Untie Makita. "

Kakuzu let out a sigh and the tentacles around me seemed to disappear. I took in a deep breath. It was relieving to have those things off of me. Kakuzu looked at Hidan and a long tentacle slithered out from Kakuzu's sleeve, grabbing hold of the other tentacles that were wrapped suffocatingly tight around Hidan. Kakuzu began walking away, dragging Hidan with him.

"What the fucking hell Kakuzu!? Why can't you fucking untie me!?" Hidan yelled.

"Shut up." Kakuzu growled darkly, walking quickly out of the room. The door slammed and I could hear Hidan cussing all the way down the hallway. I had to hold in my laughter.

"Makita-san… I strictly told you to not start fights with another member or to injure another member. You did both already. You started a fight with Hidan and injured Tobi. Since this is your first offence, you will have a lighter punishment than most, but if you repeat your previous actions, I will be forced to make the punishments more severe."

"Fine. What's my punishment?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

"Cleaning duty. One month. With Tobi." The Leader said.

"Fine." I could have sworn my eye twitched. I had to spend one whole moth with Tobi? Cleaning? Kill me now.

"I forgot to mention this earlier, but now, on top of cleaning duties, you will have rigorous training, either with Kisame, Konan, or Itachi, everyday, until your skills are of a higher level." Leader said.

I groaned, "Wonderful."

"Anyways, your cleaning duties will include dusting, washing dishes, cooking, laundry, polishing weapons, organizing different things, and doing any chore than any other member asks of you, among other things. Tobi will fill you in." The Akatsuki Leader informed me.

"Got it." I said through clenched teeth. I hated cleaning. And cooking. And now I had to spend more time with that stupid man? Fuck my life.

"Good. You are dismissed." Pein said as he stared me down.

And with that, I strode quickly from the room with barely contained rage.

* * *

"Maki-chan, don't you just love cleaning!?" An overly excited Tobi asked me.

"No." I muttered angrily, while scrubbing away at the kitchen tile. It had been three days since I had first been assigned cleaning duty. I haven't seen Kakuzu or Hidan since then, but Deidara and Sasori had returned. Deidara still won't stop laughing at me whenever he sees me cleaning. Deidara has also been making me do a bunch of stupid fucking chores. First, Deidara made me clean his room, dust his sculptures, help him with 'explosives testing' (Which was not at all fun and rather painful), scraping gum and clay and who knows what else from his ceiling, and cleaning his bathroom (turns out, Deidara hadn't cleaned his bathroom in over six months… I still shudder thinking about how dirty it was…). I am very certain that Deidara is trying to get payback for me calling him a girl.

"It's okay Maki-chan! Tobi will finish up scrubbing the floors! You can go and do what you want for now! Just make sure you come to help Tobi with supper, okay?" Tobi said.

I blinked. "Uh… okay Tobi…"

"See you in an hour Maki-chan!" Tobi said, running towards me as I stood up.

"Thanks Tobi." I said as I braced myself for the giant hug of death I knew that was coming, but Tobi stopped before he could run into me. He threw his arms open, like he was expecting _me_ to hug _him_. I raised my eyebrow at Tobi.

"Tobi wants Maki-chan to hug him!" Tobi said happily.

"Uh…" I really didn't want to hug, or even touch, Tobi.

"Please Maki-chan!?" Tobi asked. I could practically see the tears well up behind his mask. I didn't want to get pissed off at Tobi again and hurt him, seeing as how I had to spend most of my time being near him, so I reluctantly caved. I wasn't happy about it.

"Fine." I muttered, trying hard to conceal my annoyance.

"Yay!" Tobi cheered happily.

I sighed irritably and wrapped my arms cautiously around Tobi's torso. I was bracing myself in preparation to get crushed in a death hug, but I was surprised when I felt Tobi's arms wrap gently around my shoulders. I was squeezed gently into Tobi's chest. Tobi was a few inches taller than myself; the top of my head came up to where his nose would be. We stood there for a few seconds before I let go. Tobi released me from his gold about five seconds after I did. I turned to walk away, but was crushed in another inner organ damaging hug that made the air in my lungs whoosh out. Then Tobi let go.

"Thank you Maki-chan! Tobi will se you later, okay?" The orange masked man said in a hyper voice.

"No problem." I grumbled under my breath, rubbing my sore sides as I walked out of the kitchen. Tobi was one seriously fucked up kid.

I walked leisurely down the hallways, closing my eyes, deep in thought. This organization was fucked up. I sighed and opened my eyes. I wasn't sure how long I was going to survive here. I mean, really, look at me. I was a chunin who was pretty much below genin level in genjutsu, in a hideout filled with ten other people who were high jounin level or above in all areas of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu.

I unlocked and opened the door to my room and walked in, making sure to lock the door behind me. I sighed and plopped onto my bed, surveying my room. The walls were made of a rough, dark grey stone. The floor was made of the same substance as the walls and was cold to the touch. There was a large red carpet that covered the center of the room. My bed was a queen-sized bed and had red and black sheets on it. It was shoved against the right side of the room, and faced the wall that had the door that leads out of my room. A night table with an alarm clock was on the right side of the bed. There was a small dresser in the upper left corner and a small desk and chair in the lower left corner. Between the dresser and the desk was a door that led to a small bathroom.

The bathroom was made out of the same stone as my bedroom. The bathroom had a shower, with a black and red shower curtain in the corner, a toilet, and a sink with a small vanity. There were red and black towels on the towel rack and a red and black bath mat on the floor. I was beginning to notice a colour pattern here.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I felt completely emotionally drained. Questions were running rampantly through my head. I missed Airi and I really missed Ai. Who was feeding Ai? Was she okay? Did Airi get back to Konoha safely? How was she doing? What's going to happen to all of my stuff? Was I going to get any of it back? I was kind of annoyed about not having any of my things with me. I had been forced to wear Konan's clothes for the past three days and having to use soap to wash my hair. I wanted my toiletries. And my own clothes. And my cat. I sighed and closed my eyes, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_In Konoha…_

"So what you are saying is that Makita was captured by Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki of the Akatsuki?" The blonde Hokage asked, clenching her fists together.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." A grim Kiba said, "Akamaru and I tried to stop them, but we were beaten by Kisame."

"Damn it!" Tsunade yelled, slamming her clenched fists onto the top of her desk. "I told her never to shape shift in front of enemies!"

"Uh…" Kiba started to say, but was cut off by a very angry Tsunade.

"Who knows what the hell the Akatsuki will do with her! Who knows what they'll use her for!" Tsunade ranted, "We MUST get Makita back, no matter what. Akatsuki could do some very dangerous things if Makita is forced to go along with their plans…"

* * *

_Back at the Akatsuki 'lair'…_

There was a sharp knock at my door, startling me awake. I glared at the door. I was sure I already knew who it was. I stood up and faced the door, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Get the fuck out of your fucking room, bitch!"

My eye twitched. I thought it would be Tobi. Instead, I got the religious asshole. "Why should I, you stupid fucker?" I yelled.

"I heard that you're on fucking cleaning duty! I have some fucking chores that need to be fucking done!" Hidan cackled through the door.

"I'm busy at the moment." I growled angrily.

"Doing what, whore? Masturbating?" Hidan asked, banging on my door.

I glared at the door and spat out sarcastically, "Yes Hidan, you fucking bastard. That is obviously what I am doing, since I am talking to you quite normally."

"Get the fuck out here. Now." Hidan said.

"Make me, you stupid ass." I hissed.

"You want me to fucking make you?" Hidan sarcastically asked.

"Try it." I shot back.

There was silence outside the door. I braced myself, listening for any indication of what Hidan would do. I kept listening to noises outside the door. There was none. I smirked and figured that the silver haired Akatsuki member had decided to leave me alone. I turned around and bumped into the very same silver haired man that I thought was behind the door. My eyes widened briefly, before sharpening into a deadly glare. "Get. The. Fuck. Out." I hissed angrily.

"Calm down bitch. I just need you to do some fucking chores and Tobi sent me to fucking get you." Hidan snapped.

"You could have told me that." I hissed at Hidan. "Now get the fuck out of my fucking room."

"You're coming with me." Hidan spat, grabbing my left wrist in a death grip, "You need to make supper."

"I really wish I could kill you, you damn bastard." I snapped.

"And I wish I could kill you and offer you to Jashin-sama." Hidan snapped back.

"Too bad wishes don't come true." I glared.

"They can if I pray enough, Jashin-sama will hear my prayers and kill all of the fucking heathens like you." Hidan smirked at me.

I yanked my wrist out of Hidan's grasp and hissed, "Don't fucking preach to me. Your 'god' doesn't mean _anything_."

"That's why all of the fucking heathens like you go to hell, bitch! Jashin-sama will punish you." Hidan laughed.

"Oh dear fucking non-existent god, would you just shut up!?" I asked, turning around, unlocking my door, and walking down the hallway, back towards the kitchen.

"You know I'm right, bitch." Hidan taunted, following me out of my room.

"Sure. If you want to think that go ahead." I said flippantly.

Hidan growled, "Don't talk to me like that."

"Like what?" I asked innocently.

"Like _that_! It's annoying as hell!" Hidan glared at me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said, walking into the kitchen.

"MAKI-CHAN!" Tobi screamed as he ran towards me. I braced myself. "TOBI WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU'D GET HERE!!!" The masked man screamed in my ear as he crushed me in a spleen-smashing hug.

"Let go." I said darkly.

"Okay! Maki-chan! Guess what! Today, we're making… INSTANT RAMEN!" Tobi said in a voice filled with glee.

"That's it? What the fuck man! I want some real fucking food, not some fucking stupid instant shit!" Hidan said.

"If you have a problem with it, go make something yourself." I snapped, walking over to a small table and grabbing an apple out of the pale blue bowl. I leaned against the nearby counter, took a small bite of apple, and chewed it slowly, my eyes shooting daggers at Hidan. Hidan annoyed me like no one else could. I hated him more than I hated Tobi.

"But you're on kitchen duty, bitch. So make something else for me." Hidan ordered.

My eyes narrowed, "Bite me, fucker."

"You really want me to fucking bite you, bitch?" Hidan grinned, taking a step towards me.

"Try it and I'll chop your balls off… if you have any…" I hissed.

"FUCK YOU! You wanna fucking see them, whore?" Hidan asked, putting his hand on the zipper of his pants, an unspoken threat.

I grimaced, "I don't really want to see a shrivelled penis and some tiny, non-existent balls."

Hidan took three menacing steps towards me, so we were bare millimetres apart, our noses almost touching, "You really want to fucking challenge me, Red?"

Red? My inner voice scoffed. Real original. "Yes. Because I know you're too much of a pussy to actually do anything…" I said, my glare deepening.

Hidan's cocky, sadistic grin appeared on his face again, "You really fucking think so?" He asked. I could hear the zipper on his pants slide down.

Gross. "Yes. I do really think so. Because I know there's going to be nothing there."

"Really?" Hidan asked, pressing even closer to me, so the counter I was leaning against bit into my back.

I smirked, "Really." Then, I kneed him in the balls as hard as I could. Hidan doubled over in pain and fell to the floor, writhing.

"You… stupid… fucking… whore!" Hidan gasped, while squirming around on the floor.

"Well, I guess you do have something there, even if it's microscopic." I said, barely holding in a laugh. Hidan deserved what he got. He was one stupid fucker.

Tobi, who was watching the whole thing, then said, "Good job Maki-chan!"

I grinned darkly towards the masked man, "Thanks."

"As your reward for hurting Hidan, you don't have to help Tobi make supper!" Tobi said cheerfully.

I grinned darkly. Then I turned and walked toward the door that led to the hallway. I was about to open the door, when it was pulled away from me and I stared into the black depths of Itachi Uchiha's eyes.

* * *

**Once again, thank you all for reading! It means a lot to me. Reviews are always nice. :]**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen! Thank you to all who has reviewed my story! As well a huge thank you to all those who author and story alert, and author and story favourite! It means so much to me! Thank you so much to Kirathis-chan! She created many wonderful ideas for this chapter! ^_^ This chapter also uses a lot of bad words, since Hidan is in it again. **

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I stared. And stared. And stared some more. The whole room was quiet. If a pin dropped right now, I was certain that I would hear it. Even Hidan had stopped moaning in pain. You know the feeling when everyone in a room is screwing around and having a good time (or not so good time, in Hidan's case…), but then that one kill joy walks into the room and all traces of happiness, superiority, anger, or any other emotion just drains away and is replaced by either a sense of dread or uncomfortable-ness? Yeah. As soon as Itachi walked into the room, that's what happened.

"When is dinner going to be ready?" Itachi asked in a monotone voice.

"Right now Itachi-sama!" Tobi said, bouncing over to Itachi with a cup of instant ramen.

Itachi took the cup from Tobi and turned to walk out the door. Before he left, Itachi looked over his shoulder at me and said, "Makita-san, we have training this evening. In one hour, meet me in the third training room."

I nodded mutely. Itachi then walked out of the room and I let out a breath of air that I didn't know I was holding. Hidan then resumed groaning on the floor. Tobi walked back to stir the contents of the giant pot on the stove. I took a seat on the bar stool and grabbed a bowl of ramen. I took some chopsticks and fiddled with the noodles. Hidan groaned and hauled himself onto the bar stool next to me.

"You're one fucked up bitch, you know that?" Hidan smirked.

"Yes, asshole, thank you." I said as I ground my teeth together.

"Maki-chan! Will you wash the dishes for Tobi please!?" Tobi asked.

My eye twitched. I hated chores. Luckily for me, there were only a few dishes in the sink. "Yeah. Where's the dish soap?"

"In the cupboards under the island, Maki-chan!" Tobi said happily. "Tobi has to go and talk to Leader-sama, so Tobi will be right back!"

I got up from the bar stool and grabbed half filled bottle of blue coloured dish soap as Tobi bounced out of the kitchen. I put the stopper in the sink and turned the hot water on. Steam drifted up from the water as I squirted soap into the sink and grabbed one of the pots. I began scrubbing the pot roughly with an old dishrag. Hidan was watching me, an annoying smirk on his face.

"What?" I glared.

"You missed a fucking huge sauce mark, you stupid bitch." Hidan pointed out, putting his arms on the counter and leaning in closer.

"Shut the fuck up. I'd not even done washing it." I huffed.

"Well on the one you just finished fucking washing, there's a bunch of fucking noodles burnt to the bottom. Are you fucking stupid, or just fucking blind?" Hidan mocked.

"If you're going to fucking complain, why don't YOU do the dishes?" I snapped irritably.

"I'm not on fucking dish duty, bitch." Hidan smirked.

"Then shut the hell up." I glared.

"Right, whore. You really should learn to do the fucking dishes. Then maybe you'd be good at something." Hidan said.

"Excuse me, fucker?" I asked menacingly.

"Well, a woman's place is in the fucking kitchen." Hidan said, grinning at me.

"Say that again and you WILL regret it." I hissed.

"A. Woman's. Place. Is. In. The. Kitchen." Hidan said slowly, carefully annunciating each word.

"OH FUCK YOU!" I screeched. I hated sexist assholes.

I grabbed the soap, jumped onto the island top, and propelled myself over the raised ledge of the counter that separated me from Hidan. I shot forward, crashing into Hidan and pushing him backwards, off the chair. I landed on top of him on the ground and pinned Hidan's arms down by his sides and sat on his chest. Hidan was laughing his ass off.

"What the fuck are you laughing at!?" I snapped.

"You, you fucking whore! You must want me really fucking badly if you're willing to fucking jump me." Hidan winked.

"Oh shut the fuck up. You're the last thing I or any other female would _ever_ want." I spat, disgusted.

Hidan just kept laughing. I looked at the soap bottle in my hand and grinned. "Hey Hidan…"

Hidan looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "What, b-"

Before Hidan could finish his sentence, I squirted soap into his mouth. Hidan's eyes grew wide and he tried to spit out the soap, but I shoved the nozzle of the bottle into his mouth harshly and kept squeezing the bottle until all of the soap was gone from the bottle. Hidan was thrashing around wildly, making odd gurgling noises, while I sat on top of him and laughed manically. I let go of the bottle and quickly jumped off of Hidan, running around to the other side of the island.

Hidan spit out a mouthful of blue soap and started coughing, hacking up blue soap with every cough. Bubbles and white foam were coming out of Hidan's mouth and sticking to his face. I snickered. "I always knew you had rabies."

"You are a fucking little whore! Why the fucking hell would you fucking do that, huh, you fucking stupid ass bitch?" Hidan yelled hoarsely at me.

"I thought your mouth needed a cleaning." I stated simply as I started to wash the dishes again, acting as if what just went on between me and Hidan never happened.

Before I realized what was happening, Hidan was behind me, his hand roughly grabbing the back of my neck. "You will fucking regret doing that, bitch." Hidan hissed into my ear.

Hidan picked my up by the back of the neck and threw me into the wall near the fridge. I smashed head first into the wall and landed in a heap on the ground. I let out a groan and started to get up, but Hidan ran over to me and kicked me in the ribs, making me fly to the opposite side of the room. I hit the wall again. I tired to get up, but I was so winded and it was hard to breathe. I crumbled into a heap, breathing hard. I was most defiantly going to feel that in the morning.

Hidan leisurely walked over to me, an evil smile on his face. "And this is only beginning." He laughed crazily.

"Oh… fuck… you…" I gasped.

Hidan went to kick me for the third time, but I jumped to my feet and moved out of the way just in time, opening one of the cupboards and grabbing wildly inside for something. I grasped a handle of something and pulled it out. It was a frying pan. Excellent. Hidan ran at me, fist raised. I dodged the fist and smashed the frying pan into Hidan's face. I heard a crack. "What the fuck!?" I heard Hidan yell. I didn't stay to see the damage I had caused. I ran to the door that led to the hallway, but I slipped on the soap that Hidan had spit out. I fell on my ass with a grunt.

"Get the fuck back here you fucking bitch!" Hidan shouted. He ran towards me and I scrambled to get up from the floor. Hidan ran over the same area covered with soap that I did and he slipped, landing near me. I got up and started to run for the door, but Hidan grabbed my ankle and pulled hard, making me fall to the floor. I struggled to get up and away, but Hidan rolled on top of me, straddling my hips, and pinning my arms to my sides with his legs. He put his hand or either side of my face and bared his teeth in rage, his face mere inches from mine. I looked at Hidan and smirked. I must have broken his nose when I hit him with a frying pan.

"I am going to fucking sacrifice you to Jashin, you fucking whore." Hidan seethed, soap and blood was dripping down the sides of Hidan's face, splattering onto mine.

"Mind getting the fuck off? Your fat ass is crushing me." I said.

Hidan chuckled, "I won't be getting off any time soon."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" I glared.

"This." Hidan said as he smirked at me. Hidan's head lowered and I felt his lips near my neck. I froze.

"What the in the fucking hell are you doing?" I snapped.

I could feel Hidan's lips moving and I could hear him mumbling something. "Prepare to be sacrificed to Jashin-sama." Hidan muttered darkly into my ear.

I started to struggle, trying to get the crazed Jashinist off of me, but Hidan just pressed his body harder into mine. Well. This was awkward. Not to mention uncomfortable. I clenched my teeth together. It was time to shape shift. I focused my energy and in the next few seconds, I was a turtle. I pulled my tiny turtle legs and arms and head into the hard shell. I was supporting Hidan's torso with my turtle body, but I wasn't supporting anything else. Without my neck to support Hidan's head, his face smashed into the floor. A howl of pain and a string of very colourful curses followed after. I laughed internally. Hidan rolled onto his back, cursing and holding onto his broken nose. I transformed back into myself and jumped away from Hidan, putting the island in the middle of the kitchen between us.

Hidan, still clutching his face in pain, looked at me with a deadly glare. "You are so FUCKING dead, you fucking bitch!"

Hidan moved forward, jumping over the island in the kitchen and crashing into me. I flew backwards, hitting my head on the counter behind me. I fell to the ground, Hidan on top of me, yet again. I felt a warm substance begin to drip freely down the back of my head. I growled angrily and shoved Hidan off of me. I got up and dashed towards the fridge, Hidan right behind me. I fell down again and rolled out of the way as Hidan tried to grab me. Instead, I grabbed Hidan's ankles and pulled, making the crazy Jashinist fall over. I got on top of Hidan and punched him in the jaw, hearing a satisfying crack. Hidan yelled out in pain and punched me in the ribs, making me gasp and practically topple over onto the floor. Soon, Hidan and I were rolling around on the floor, one moment I was on top, the next Hidan was. We were punching, kicking, and biting each other. We were doing anything to cause pain to the other.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened. Hidan and I paused and looked to see who had entered the room. It was Kisame. He stared at us. We stared at him. Hidan and I must have looked very… awkward to Kisame. I was straddling Hidan's hips, my fist raised, while Hidan had a fistful of my blood red hair in his hand, ready to rip it out. The staring contest went on for a few moments, all three of us frozen still. Kisame looked at us for a few more seconds before turning around and walking out of the kitchen.

"FUCK!" Both Hidan and I yelled as we scrambled off of each other.

We both knew what was coming next. Kisame would probably go and get the Leader. Hidan and I were both already on Leader's nerves from the last time we fought. I looked around the kitchen. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck! This place is a fucking mess!" I panicked. I really did not want to get punished.

"Bitch! This is your fault!" Hidan seethed at me.

"How the fuck is it my fault!?" I snarled.

"You made me eat soap!" Hidan yelled.

"Only because you're an asshole!" I shouted back.

"Whore!" Hidan said, glaring at me.

"Scumbag!" I shot back.

"Anus cracker!"

"Cock sucker!"

"Screw ball!"

"Chicken molester!"

"Ass clown!" Hidan growled, taking a step closer to me.

"Fag boy!" I snarled back, also taking a step closer to Hidan.

"Mother fucker!"

"Tampon sized dick!"

"Jerk off!"

"Attention whore!"

"Dip shit!"

"Ass wipe!"

"Jackass!"

"Douche bag!"

"Shit head!"

"Moron!"

"Go fuck a knife, you fucking bitch!"

"Go staple your tongue to a door!"

"Cheap Prostitute!" Hidan shouted back. Somehow while we were name calling, we had gotten so close to each other, our faces were practically touching.

"You're a piss infected cum bubble!" I screamed into Hidan's face.

"Are you both done?"

Hidan and I froze. We looked towards the voice. Hidan just smirked, while I tensed nervously. It was the Leader, standing in the doorway and glaring darkly at Hidan and I. "Hey, Oh Great One!" Hidan said sarcastically.

"You two. My office. NOW." The Leader said, turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

I looked at Hidan, who just grinned sadistically at me. "You have no idea the kind of fucking punishment that's in store for you…"

"You're being punished too, fuckface." I snapped back.

"Yeah, but I like the fucking pain. And I can't fucking die." Hidan laughed as he walked out of the kitchen, following the general direction of where the Leader went. I followed behind Hidan.

"I don't die very easily either, jackass." I sneered.

"Depends on what fuck the oh-so-mighty Leader has in fucking store for you." Hidan shot at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Have I ever told you how much I fucking hate you?"

"Yeah, bitch. I fucking hate you too. I _will _fucking sacrifice you."

"Like you even could. You're too much of a fucking pussy."

"Wanna say that again?"

"What? That you wouldn't be able to sacrifice me, or that you're too much of a fucking pussy?"

Hidan stopped walking and glared daggers at me. I glared back. "Do you want to fucking fight?"

"Hidan. Makita. Stop fighting _**now**_." The Leader hissed angrily. I shut my mouth, but Hidan kept ranting about why I was stupid and how the fight was my fault.

Leader stopped walking. "Hidan. If you continue to talk, I will make sure you never see the light of day ever again."

Hidan grinned cockily, but stopped talking. We both followed the Leader into his office and shut the door behind us with a loud bang.

* * *

Two hours, three broken fingers, one dislocated jaw, one broken and three cracked ribs later; I emerged from Pein's office. The stupid fucking Leader said that he was being nice, and that next time I get into a fight while I wasn't training, I probably wouldn't be able to move for a very long time. As a part of my punishment, I was assigned two more months of cleaning duty with Hidan while another member supervised, Hidan and I were no longer allowed to be in the same room without another member to watch us to make sure we didn't fight (It made me feel like I was a child and not able to control myself. I hated it), and I wasn't allowed to get medical attention for my injuries that the Leader had given to me. Hidan's punishment was still going on. He was getting beaten to a bloody pulp. When I left Leader's office, Hidan was missing both of his arms. It was enjoyable to see. I walked towards my room, closing my eyes, and internally cursing the Leader to hell. The Leader also said that he had originally planned to make me be a subordinate under Kakuzu and for me to go on missions with Hidan and Kakuzu, but because of my hatred and unwillingly-ness to get along, or even try to get along, with Hidan, the Leader had to pair me with someone else. I'm still not sure who it will be, but the Leader said he had to 'go through a very long list'. He lectured me and berated me for a good thirty minutes. The stupid asshole.

"Where were you?" a monotone voice said.

I opened my eyes and jumped back when I saw Itachi standing in front of me. "What?" I asked stupidly.

"We had training two hours ago. Where were you?"

"I was in the Leader's office." I said, avoiding looking at Itachi.

"Why?" Itachi asked,

"Getting punished." I muttered, twisting my jaw and popping it back into place, to make talking a little less painful.

"For what?" Itachi asked, monotonously.

"Fighting with Hidan…" I trailed off.

There was a pause and the Itachi said, "We have training now. Follow me."

"What!? But it's already nine!" I burst out, "And I'm injured!"

"I do not care. We'll train until tomorrow evening if we have to." Itachi said.

"This is bullshit." I glared.

Itachi said nothing, but just turned around and began walking down the hallway. I stayed where I was and watched him. Maybe he wouldn't notice I wasn't following him and then I could escape to my room. Itachi paused about fifteen feet away from me and looked over his shoulder back at me. He said nothing. Itachi just stared at me. I coughed uncomfortably and started to follow Itachi. He walked down the hallway, me trailing behind him slowly. He paused near a normal looking wall, formed some hand seals, and pressed his hands to the wall. A door appeared and Itachi walked through it. I hesitated, but then followed him. There was a set of rough stone steps carved out of the rock. I followed Itachi up the stairs, wondering where the hell we were going. I was in pain and all of this moving was not doing anything good for my body. I needed rest and I needed to heal. Soon, I saw the twinkling of a million stars above me. Itachi and I were outside.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why the hell are we outside?"

"So we don't wake the others." Itachi replied in a bored tone of voice.

"Why the would we wake the others?" I questioned.

"If you start crying." Itachi answered.

I paused and glared at him, "I'm not a little girl."

Itachi ignored my statement, "We'll be working on genjutsu. It's your greatest fault and it needs a lot of improvement."

"I know that." I huffed.

Itachi said nothing. He just stood there solemnly, staring at me. I stared back, being careful to not look into his eyes. I made that mistake last time. Instead, I just focused on him chin. It was a nice looking chin. "Attack me." Itachi said.

"What?"

"Attack. Me."

"With what?"

"Hn."

"That's not an answer." I said. All I got was silence. This man was so frustrating! "I guess we'll just have to stand here and stare at each other." I snapped.

"Taijutsu." Itachi answered shortly.

"But I'm already injured!" I protested.

"I don't care." Itachi said, his voice completely emotionless.

I rolled my eyes. "No. I wouldn't even be able to fight you."

"Try." Itachi challenged.

"No." I glared.

There was a long silence. I didn't even dare to breathe. Then, in a blink of an eye, Itachi was in front of me, his fist coming towards me at a dangerously fast speed. I took a sharp breath and attempted to move out of the way, but Itachi's fist collided with my already fragile ribs. I flew back into a tree and hit the ground with a thud. I rolled messily onto my knees, vomiting up blood and bile. I was certain most, if not all, my ribs were broken from the violent blow. This sharingan user fought dirty. Before I could even think, Itachi was on my right, kicking me in the side. I flew up high into the air, I was gasping for air. Gravity took hold and I began to fall back to the Earth.

I tried to shift into a bird, but for some reason, I was unable to shift into anything. I hit the ground with a loud, echoing boom, a crater forming around my body. I lay in the middle of the crater, struggling to breathe. I felt pain. It was everywhere. I attempted to shift into something, anything, to try and get away and hide myself to prevent my body from getting even more damaged, but I couldn't. I bit my lip to hold in a scream of frustration. I squeezed my eyes shut, when I was hit with a thought. Genjutsu. Why else would I not be able to shape shift? Fuck, I was stupid. I struggled to lift my arms together, and I formed the hand seals. "Release." I muttered weakly under my breath.

When I opened my eyes, I was back to where I was before, staring at Itachi. Fuck, he was good. Itachi was standing across from me, no emotion showed on his face or in his eyes. He was like a black void.

"Now attack me." Itachi said.

"Why!? You just raped my mind!" I exclaimed.

Itachi paused for what seemed like forever, "We can always use more genjutsu."

"Fine!" I growled, running at Itachi as fast as I could. I raised my fist and drove it towards his skull.

Itachi dodged easily, grabbing my arm and swung my body into a tree. I hit the tree so hard, it broke in half, and my body kept sailing through the air, until I hit a second tree, where the tree cracked violently. My back screamed in pain and I fell to the ground, breathing heavily. I got up and shifted into a hawk, taking to the sky, trying to see if I could find Itachi. I flew in a large circle, searching for the dark haired Uchiha. I couldn't see him. I was about to turn around and fly the other way, when a kunai knife came out of nowhere and hit my left wing. I let out a shriek and plummeted towards the earth. I shifted into water, letting the kunai fall to the ground. Then I turned back into my normal form and hit the ground in a roll.

I got up and looked around, I couldn't see Itachi. That scared me, as much as I hated to admit it. Suddenly, I was kicked in the back of the head. I flew through the air, slamming head first into the dirt. I could feel the blood gush down my face. I tried to push myself up, but my left arm was injured (from the kunai knife). I crumpled, but tried to get up using my right arm, but Itachi kicked my right elbow, making the bone go the opposite way it was supposed to go. My elbow bone ripped through the skin, making my right arm completely useless. I choked back a scream of pain. The Uchiha kicked my ribs, fully breaking the cracked ones. I felt pain everywhere. I coughed and felt blood bubble and flow over my lips. I couldn't move.

"Training is over for today. Meet me tomorrow afternoon for more training." Itachi said as he turned and walked away.

I tried to say something, but the blood drowned my words out. I screamed internally. I hated Itachi Uchiha. I lay on the ground, breathless, eyes closed. Itachi Uchiha was one hell of a fucking asshole. He was a dangerous man. I was in a world of pain. I could feel blood seeping out of the cuts and wounds on my arms, head, and torso, staining my skin and my clothes with the warm liquid. I groaned. How the hell was I supposed to get back into the hideout?

'_What is wrong with you? You look like hell.'_

My eyes flew open and I was met with the gaze of my grey cat. "Ai!?" I croaked.

'_Yes?_' My cat replied, jumping lightly into my chest. I winced.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked hoarsely, shocked. I really hoped this wasn't any type of genjutsu.

'_I came to find you, obviously. You have no idea how long it took. You owe me. Big time. You have no idea the HELL I went through.'_ Ai sniffed. I grinned weakly at her. She was covered in mud and her fur was matted.

"You know, you look like hell too." I muttered.

'_SHUT UP!'_ Ai yelled. _'You WISH you looked this good right now!'_

I grinned. I was glad Ai was here. With her around, maybe the Akatsuki wouldn't be so bad now.

* * *

**Well, I needed to end the chapter somewhere. I think it was an okay place to end. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Sorry for the really long wait. Life keeps preventing me from writing. It's been busy and is guaranteed to only get busier! I'll try and update as often as I can! I will not give up on this story. And a question to you wonderful readers, should I move this story to the mature section/rate this story mature? Thank you! **

** Reviews are always nice. :]**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen. I am so sorry for the wait! Life was really busy. But summer is almost here, so I'll have more time to work on this story! Although I will probably going to be working full time (I am going on a trip to Europe, so I need to make a lot of money so I can go! :D). I give a huge thank you to all of the amazing readers who read, favourite, alert, and review this story! It means so much to me and I appreciate each and everyone of you! Thank you so much! If anyone has any suggestions for the story, I'd love to hear them! Also, a special thanks to Kirathis-chan for helping me with the chapter! Now, enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

I awoke with a jolt and I took in a deep gasp of air. I blinked slowly and looked around the dimly lit room. I hadn't been in this room before. I was lying on a comfortable bed and there were cabinets that took up the entire wall to my left. I immediately assumed I was in the medical ward of the Akatsuki base. My head was pounding painfully and I felt nauseous. I shifted my body and sat up, remembering all of the injuries I had received while training with the damn Uchiha. I looked down at my body, surprised to see that there was no visible damage. No bandages, no new scars, nothing. I was perfectly fine.

"You're finally awake." A monotone voice said, interrupting my thoughts.

My eyes shot up and shot over to the source of the voice. It was Itachi. He was sitting idly in a chair by the door. The fucking asshole. "What the fuck happened?" I growled angrily.

"Genjutsu." Itachi answered simply.

"Want to explain…?" I hissed.

"It was a fairly simple genjutsu. I cast it when we first met in the hallway." Itachi said.

I groaned, "How long was I out for?"

"Three weeks." The Uchiha said.

"Holy fuck!" My eyes widened. That long?

"For a chunin level genjutsu, you failed miserably." Itachi said, stating the obvious.

I glared at Itachi. I already knew that. I didn't need him to tell me. "Why was my cat in the genjutsu?" I asked, changing subjects.

Itachi said nothing; he just stood up and walked out of the room. I scrambled to sit up and get off the bed to follow Itachi, but as soon as I stood up, a wave of dizziness hit me. I leaned against the bed, supporting my weak legs. Fuck. I was tired already. I was pissed the fuck off. Itachi had no right to use such a powerful (well... powerful for me...) genjutsu on me, especially when he knew that I sucked ass at it. Itachi walked back into the room and stared at me.

"You should rest. The genjutsu put a lot of strain on your mind and body." He told me.

"I am perfectly fine." I snapped and glared at the Uchiha, as I stood up. I took a few steps before my legs decided to betray me and give out. I fell to the ground, landing painfully on my ass. Itachi walked over calmly and gently grasped my arm; pulling me up and helping me back onto the hospital bed. My cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment. I hated having to be helped with something as simple as walking. Itachi lifted my legs and put me on the bed. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Thanks." I muttered. I felt so weak. I hated it here.

"Just make sure to stay in bed until Konan comes to check on you." Itachi said emotionlessly. And with that, he left the room.

I settled into the bed, getting more comfortable. I closed my eyes, deciding to sleep since I didn't have anything better to do.

* * *

I wasn't sure how long I was asleep for, but I was suddenly awoken by a very, very loud voice, "MAKI-CHAN! YOU'RE AWAKE!"

I flinched and opened my eyes, glaring at the masked brat. "I was sleeping." I hissed, "What do you want?"

"Tobi just came to see how Maki-chan was doing! Tobi missed you!" He said, bouncing up to the side of the bed and staring at me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Tobi, get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you."

"But Maki-chan! Konan-chan sent Tobi to get you! She said you were all better and needed to start training your lazy ass!" Tobi said cheerfully.

My right eye twitched slightly, "I'm not lazy."

"Well all you've been doing is sleeping!" Tobi giggled.

"I was unconscious." I said, deadpan.

Tobi giggled and ran over to me, grabbing my left arm and pulling me out of the bed. I stood on wobbly legs, trying to find my center of balance. Before I had time to fully gain awareness of my weakened body, Tobi grabbed my hand. I was pulled out the door and dragged by Tobi down the halls, running to keep up with him, so he wouldn't pull off my arm. We stopped outside the kitchen and Tobi beamed at me, "Tobi was doing all the cooking with Hidan-san the entire time Maki-chan was sleeping! Tobi is a good boy!"

I ripped my hand out of Tobi's grasp and glared at him, "I don't care."

Tobi just stared at me before bouncing into the kitchen. I sighed and slowly followed in after him. My legs still felt a little weak, but I was feeling better than I had when I first woke up. I was greeted with the unpleasant sight of Hidan, stirring a pot of water on the stove angrily. I inwardly laughed at him. I assumed Hidan had been stuck doing all of the chores and cooking for the past three weeks while I was in the medical ward.

"Maki-chan, you can start chopping some yummy veggies for Tobi!"

I sighed and I got out a chopping board and a knife. I grabbed a carrot from the counter and began chopping the orange vegetable lazily. I was tired and every now and then, a wave of nausea would wash over me, only to pass by quickly. The genjutsu, as weak as it was, had taken its toll on me. I was weak. I really needed more training. I scowled at the vegetable on the cutting board in front of me, my chopping becoming a little more violent.

"So, you're still fucking alive?" I heard the Jashinist ask, "Fuck, I was hoping you fucking died."

I glared and ground my teeth together. I said nothing, willing myself to be calm, not wanting to give Hidan the satisfaction of knowing he was pissing me off.

"Hey, bitch, where were you? Fucking all the other members, right?" Hidan asked, leaning over the counter to get closer to my face.

My eye twitched and I slammed the knife down on the counter and turned my steely gaze to Hidan. "No. I was unconscious." I hissed.

"Why? All that fucking sex tire you out?" Hidan asked, walking around the counter to stand closer to me. I picked up the knife again and began to chop the carrot violently, imagining that it was Hidan I was cutting up. "Answer the question." Hidan smirked at me. I remained silent. "So from your silence," Hidan continued, "I assume I'm right." Hidan grinned wolfishly at me and slid closer to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. I stiffened and my glare turned darker, but I still said nothing. "Can I have a turn with you then? I promise you'll enjoy is more than all the others." Hidan whispered in my ear with a failed attempt at seductiveness.

I guess Hidan didn't understand what the 'silent treatment' was. It only took me a second to drive the knife I was using to chop carrots into Hidan's eye and flip him onto the ground. "No. I was sick. Fuck off, you fucking asshole."

"You fucking whore bitch!" Hidan scream, holding his eye, "I'm going to fucking sacrifice you to fucking Jashin!"

Tobi ran up to me, attacking me with a hug. "Maki-chan! Are you okay? You almost got... got... raped by Hidan-san!"

I sucked in a deep breath of air, trying to control my rage, "Tobi, let go."

Tobi didn't let go, he just held me tighter. "Don't worry Maki-chan, Tobi would never let Hidan-san have sex with Maki-chan!"

My eyes twitched and I clenched my fists together, "I, along with any self-respecting female, would never want to have sex with Hidan, Tobi. Ever. Now let go."

Tobi let go of me. I could tell he was smiling wildly underneath his mask. Hidan was moaning in pain on the ground. Suddenly, Tobi's arm shot out behind me. I whipped around to see Tobi holding the knife I had stuck in Hidan's eye only moments before. My eyes widened slightly. The knife was only a few millimetres away from the centre of my forehead. If Tobi hadn't caught the knife, it would have been embedded in the back of my skull, and I would have died. I looked at Tobi with my widened eyes.

"Is Maki-chan okay?" Tobi asked, for once sounding semi-serious.

"I'm fine." I said. I was stunned and in shock. Tobi had saved my life. I owed him big time. I turned to glared at Hidan, "What the fuck is your problem!"

"You deserved it, bitch." Hidan shot back. He was still sitting on the floor and his right hand was covering his right eye while blood seeped through the crack of his fingers and dripped slowly down Hidan's arm and onto the floor, "That hurt like a mother fucker. I thought the fucking Leader fucking said that there was to be no more fucking fighting between us."

"Fuck you." I snapped. There was a pause while Hidan and I glared darkly at each other.

"I'm telling on Hidan-san!" Tobi screeched

"What the fuck? Why only me, you fucking cunt?" Hidan asked. I could hear the rage in his voice.

"Because Maki-chan was only protecting herself from being sexually assaulted!" Tobi yelled, running out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

"You little shit!" Hidan yelled, scrambling up off the floor and dashed out of the room after Tobi, leaving a bloody hand print and drops of blood on the floor.

I sighed and looked around the kitchen. My stomach growled hungrily. I had nothing better to do and I was starving, so I looked to see what Tobi was making. There was water in a pot on the stove and a package of noodles beside it, on the counter, as well as a pile of vegetables next to the noodle packages. It looked like some type of stir-fry. My stomach growled again. I sighed and decided to attempt to cook something edible.

I turned the stove on, to boil the water. I looked at the vegetables and picked up a knife, chopping them up into bite sized pieces. I sighed and chopped some broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, cucumber, onions, and the rest of the carrots. By the time I was done cutting up the vegetables, the water was bubbling violently. I dumped the noodles unceremoniously into the viciously boiling pot.

I sat on the bar stool and waited. I wasn't sure how long I had to wait until the noodles would be fully cooked. I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to actually make a stir fry either. My cooking talents were limited to boiling water and instant food. I looked at the cut up vegetables beside me. I retrieved another pot from under the counter and filled it with water. I put the water filled pot on the stove and turned on another burner. I dumped all the vegetables in the water and sat back, waiting for the noodles to finish boiling and for the veggies to start boiling.

I leaned against the counter, resting my chin in my hand. I was tired and my body was screaming for rest. A chunin level genjutsu had knocked me unconscious for three weeks. Three. Fucking. Weeks. I frowned and my brow furrowed. I was going to have to get stronger if I was going to survive in Akatsuki. I jumped as I heard a loud sizzling sound. My head whipped to the source of the noise and I jumped up, taking the over flowing pot of noodles off of the stove.

"Ouch..." I hissed, as some of the scalding water splashed onto my hand. I put the pot on the table and shook my hand, hoping to calm the burning sensation. Then I grabbed a fork out of the drawer to my left. I scooped a few noodles from the pot onto my fork. I blew on the steaming noodles and popped them in my mouth. They were a little overcooked, but I was too hungry to care. I shrugged and emptied the water out of the pot and into the sink. I set the pot filled with noodles on the counter and went to check the vegetables. I stabbed the fork into a piece of broccoli. The fork slid through with no problem. I turned off the stove and drained the water from the veggie filled pot. I combined the noodles and veggies and opened the fridge, looking for some kind of sauce to go with the 'stir-fry'. There were a few different bottles filled with a few... curious... looking substances. I shut the fridge door and decided to just eat the food plain.

I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and I sat down, my plate filled with the noodles and vegetables. I took a tentative bite. It didn't taste that bad. Granted, it wasn't the best thing I've ever tasted, but it was still edible... kind of. I took another forkful and began chewing slowly, walking around and sitting on a bar stool. The veggies were a tad undercooked, but hell, I didn't give a fuck. The kitchen door opened and I turned my head around to see who was here. It was Kisame.

"Hey." I said through a mouth full of food.

Kisame nodded his head in acknowledgment. "You make this?" He asked.

"Yeah." I nodded.

Kisame grabbed a plate and filled it with noodles and vegetables. He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of red sauce. He poured it all over his food and sat down beside me while picking out all of the carrots. He glanced over at me and caught me looking at him. He gave me a dark grin, showing off his sharp teeth. I grinned back.

"So, I was just informed that you're going to be my new subordinate." Kisame said.

I raised my eyebrow at the shark man, "Oh?" I asked, swallowing the food I was chewing, "When was this decided?"

"Only a few hours ago." Kisame replied, popping a huge mouthful of food into his mouth.

I didn't say anything. Kisame and I ate in silence for a few moments. I stood up and grabbed a glass of water and leaned against the counter. A few more minutes of silence passed by. I glanced at Kisame again, "So... does this mean I'll have a mission soon?"

Kisame nodded, "Yeah, soon. You'll probably have more training with either me or Itachi."

I glared at an empty plate. Training. Great.

"I'm sure Itachi will go easier on you now that he knows what level you're at in genjutsu." Kisame said, reading my thoughts of displeasure.

I snorted and placed my plate in the sink. I left the kitchen and walked down the hallways towards my room. I opened the door, locked it behind me, and flopped onto my bed. I rolled onto my back. I felt completely drained. Stupid genjutsu. I thought about the upcoming training, the possibility of a new mission, and more about training. I sighed and drifted off into sleep once again.

* * *

I awoke with an annoyed mumble. I shifted and let out a groan. Whatever was on top of me was really fucking heavy. I shifted my head towards the ceiling and I cracked my eyes open. I was startled to see a bright orange and black mask mere centimetres away from my face. I let out a screech and swung my fist violently towards Tobi's head. "Get the fuck off of me!"

Before my fist could make contact with Tobi's head, Tobi grabbed my wrist and flipped us, so I was on top of him and crushed into his chest. Tobi's arms were squeezing my arms into my sides in a deadly hug. I tried to squirm out of the death hug, but Tobi refused to let me go and just squeezed even tighter.

"Maki-chan! You're awake! Tobi is glad because Tobi was getting lonely!" Tobi said happily as he nuzzled my head affectionately.

"How the fuck did you even get in my fucking room? I locked the fucking door!" I spat.

"Tobi is a ninja! Tobi knows how to get passed locks and Tobi wanted to surprise Maki-chan when she woke up!" Tobi shouted gleefully.

I swore darkly under my breath and I struggled to get away from Tobi again. "Let go of me," I said angrily, "Or I will shove an iron pole so far up your fucking ass, you'll feel it in your tonsils."

Tobi giggled and rolled over, so he was once again on top of me. He sat up, half sitting between my hips and lower abdomen. "Maki-chan is so funny!" Tobi giggled again.

I took in a deep breath and forced myself to remain calm. "Tobi, I'm only going to ask nicely once… get. Off." I said, biting my lip so hard it started to bleed, "Now!"

Tobi gasped, ignoring what I said, "Maki-chan! You're bleeding! Tobi will help!" Tobi grabbed my chin and I tried to rip it out of his grasp, but he just held on tighter. He gently thumbed away the blood that had dribbled down the side of my mouth. "There you go. All better now." Tobi said softly.

I blinked. Tobi's voice was huskier and deeper, instead of his normal annoying, high-pitched voice. I glared and clenched my fists, punching Tobi square in the jaw.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Tobi screeched, flailing his arms wildly, trying to regain his balance and toppling off of my bed.

I sat up and narrowed my eyes even more, "I told you to get the fuck off." I hissed angrily.

Tobi looked up at me, "That wasn't very nice Makita."

I raised my eyebrow. Since when did Tobi refer to me by my full name? Before I could react, Tobi's arm shot out and clamped onto my wrist, pulling my off the bed. I landed on top of Tobi and I glared at him. I noticed a tiny hairline crack on his mask. I grinned internally. Maybe that would teach him not to bother me.

"Tobi was just trying to help Maki-chan! Why is Maki-chan so mean to Tobi!" Tobi whined, his voice going back to his normal irritating voice I had come to loathe with every fibre of my being. Tobi's arm was wrapped tightly around my waist and his other hand was stroking my hair. This kid was so extremely fucked up.

"Tobi, I already asked you this once, let go of me." I growled.

Tobi chuckled, his grip on me getting tighter, "No! Tobi is having fun!"

I sighed and shifted into a tiny dwarf hamster, scurrying away from Tobias fast as I could.

"Ah! Maki-chan!" Tobi shrieked, looking around frantically for me, "Where did you go!"

When I was at the opposite side of the room, I shifted back into my normal form. "Tobi, just go away and stop fucking bothering me, okay?"

"But Tobi is bored! Tobi wants to do something!" Tobi whined.

"Well the go do something else with someone else." I snapped, rubbing my forehead in irritation.

"But Tobi wants to play with Maki-chan!" Tobi exclaimed.

"I don't want to have anything to do with you." I spat out. Before Tobi could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I called; glad someone else was here to keep me from murdering Tobi.

Itachi opened the door and observed the scene in front of him without any trace of emotion. I was leaning against the wall the farthest away from Tobi with my arms angrily crossed over my chest and Tobi was still sitting on the floor.

"Makita-san, you have training." Itachi said.

I nodded and walked out of my room. I turned and glared at the masked man, "Tobi, get the fuck out of my room."

Tobi got off the floor and hung his head sadly. He walked out of my room and down the hallway, turning the corner and disappearing from sight. I closed my bedroom door and turned to Itachi, "What are we working on today?" I asked.

"Genjutsu." Itachi said simply, walking down the hallway. I walked quickly so I could catch up and walk beside him. I was not going to act like I was scared or intimidated by the powerful Uchiha. We walked in silence until he stopped and opened the door to the training room. We stepped inside and I was met with the sight of a giant, high-ceilinged, stone cavern.

"This training room is usually used for small scale training." Itachi informed me quietly. I nodded in response and waked farther into the huge room.

"So… where do we begin?"

Itachi glanced over at me, "We'll start with a few exercises to get you warmed up."

"Great." I groaned.

"We'll start easy and build up from there." Itachi said quietly.

I nodded and got into a fighting stance. This was going to be one hell of a long day.

* * *

I walked out of the training room like a zombie. Itachi walked beside me. "You improved slightly."

"But I still failed miserably." I muttered.

Itachi said nothing as we walked down the hallway together, towards the kitchen. We had trained the entire day and I was exhausted. Kisame was right, Itachi did take it easier on me, but the training was still brutal. It was going to take forever for me to bring my skills up to par with everyone else. Itachi and I walked into the kitchen, to be greeted by the sight of Konan and Kisame eating at the table. I went to the fridge and pulled out an apple. I took a giant bite, the juice dribbling down my chin. I went to wipe the sweet juice off of my chin with the back of my hand, but a napkin appeared in front of my face. I looked along the arm that was holding the napkin out to me. It was Itachi. I grabbed the napkin and grinned, "Thanks." I said, wiping the apple juice from my face.

"Hn." Was all that the stoic Uchiha said as he walked away from me and sat down at the table, across from Kisame.

"Makita-san, may I speak with you for a moment?" Konan's delicate voice asked.

"Yeah," I said, "About what?"

"In private, Makita-san." She said as she stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

I looked over to Kisame with a raised eyebrow. He shot me a toothy grin and shrugged. I sighed and followed after Konan. She was already a good ways down the hallway. I jogged to catch up with her. I was nervous. What did Konan need to talk to me? And why in private? "You're not in trouble." Konan said.

"Then what are we going to talk about?" I asked.

"Your personal belongings in Konoha. We have some of them here." Konan answered.

"Oh?" I shifted my gaze from the floor to Konan's face.

Konan nodded and continued walking. We stopped outside a door and Konan opened it. It was her bedroom. It was almost identical to mine, except there were origami flowers decorating the walls and the top of her desk. I raised my eyebrow at Konan. The sheets, colour scheme, and set up of the room were identical to mine. "The organization bought all of the sheets and such in bulk." She explained.

I nodded slowly, "So... where are my things?"

"Here." Konan said, walking to her dresser and pulling out a large scroll, "Your things are sealed in there. I wasn't sure what to grab out of your apartment, so I grabbed the first few things that I saw."

I grinned at Konan. "Thanks. You didn't have to."

"I did have to. I was getting tired of you and I having to share clothes." Konan said.

"So was I." I grinned.

A small smile formed on Konan's lips and she tossed me the scroll. I caught it with one hand. "Is that all you needed to talk to me about?"

Konan hesitated for a moment, "No."

"What else do we need to talk about?" I asked slowly, bracing myself for bad news.

"Makita-san... you have one month to drastically improve your skills in genjutsu. The Akatsuki is not a place for weak people who will bring us down." Konan explained.

My mouth formed into a thin line. Sure, I was weaker than most, if not all, of the current Akatsuki members, but I wasn't... that horribly weak. I was sure I was at least stronger than Hidan. And maybe Tobi. "I see."

"If there is no improvement, the Akatsuki will have no use for you." Konan continued.

"Meaning I'll be killed, right?" I said, stating what Konan had hinted at.

"Correct." Konan said with a slight nod.

I took in a deep breath, "Well, that's incentive to do better."

Konan let out a humourless chuckle, "You are dismissed."

I nodded and walked out of her room. My teeth ground together in anger. I hated, no, loathed, it here. Why? Why did I have to be taken to this hellhole? I was going to find some way to get out of here, even if I died trying.

"Makita-san."

I spun around, the voice of Itachi startling me, "Yes?"

"We have training tomorrow. Six AM." He said as he brushed by, his cloak grazing my arm. In the low lighting of the hallway, Itachi looked... I'm going to kill myself for thinking this, but Itachi looked incredibly sexy. He had an air of mystery around him that made me want to know what this man really thought, to know more about him.

"Okay... Sounds good." I said quietly as Itachi soundlessly disappeared down the dark hallway. I stared after him until I snapped back to reality. What the fuck was I thinking? I shook my head and continued down the hallway towards my room. I walked in and shut the door, locking it behind me. I had started putting a ninjutsu barrier around my room when I was in it, so no one unauthorized could come in without my permission.

I cracked my knuckles and opened the scroll, putting it on the ground. I quickly did some quick hand signs. With a poof, a backpack, a pile of my clothes, a few pairs of shoes, and another small bag came out of the scroll. I grinned and walked over to the nearest thing, which happened to be my backpack. I tugged the zipper down and a grey fur ball flew out of the backpack and attached itself to my face, claws digging into the soft flesh of my scalp. I yelped and fell backwards, "Get off!" I yelled, grabbing the fuzzy creature and pulling it off of my face, "Ai! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Ai stopped struggling and looked at me, "_Oh, Makita! It's you! I was worried that it would be that tackily dressed, horrid, blue-haired woman again!"_ Ai said, her voice filled with relief as she snuggled into me.

"Awe, Ai, I've missed you! Who's been taking care of you?" I asked, stroking her grey fur.

Ai shuddered, "_That awfully dressed boy with the freakish eyebrows_."

"Lee-kun?" I asked.

"_Yeah. He came in everyday and talked to me. He misses you a lot. Apparently Konoha is on a search for you. They're desperate to get you back. Mostly eyebrow freak, boobs, pinky, and dog boy._" Ai explained casually, purring as I scratched behind her ear.

"Lee, Sakura, Tsunade, and Kiba..." I said, biting my lip with worry. Did they think I was a missing nin now?

"_Yes._" Ai said, purring even louder, "_They tore your apartment apart, looking for clues. Crime scene tape was put all over the doors and windows. Lee was only allowed in there because he had to feed me and I attacked anyone who tried to get me to leave._"

I chuckled, "Good kitty."

"_And then,_" Ai continued, acting like she hadn't heard me, "_that awful woman came and shoved my into your backpack! I was in there for days! DAYS!_" Ai sniffed, "_Take me to the kitchen, I'm hungry._"

I rolled my eyes, "Fine," I said, picking Ai up, "But you'll have to walk there yourself." I grinned evilly, dropping the cat suddenly, but Ai landed on all four of her paws and glared at me. "_Just for that, I'm going to rip up your favourite shirt._" Ai's glare deepened.

"Do that and I'll shove you back in that backpack." I threatened.

Ai stuck her nose in the air; "_We have a truce... for now._"

"I'm going to change." I said, grabbing a few items from the pile of clothes that popped out of the scroll and I walked into the bathroom. I stripped out of Konan's lightly coloured, too big clothes and threw them on a pile in the corner of the bathroom. I slipped on a pair of black pants with many pockets and a snug purple tank top. I brushed my bangs over my scar a little more and grinned. Having my own clothes back was wonderful.

"_Hurry up! You're taking forever!_" I heard Ai shout. I snorted and walked out of the bathroom and over to Ai, who was standing impatiently at the door.

We walked silently into the hall, my bare feet barely making any sound. Ai followed closely behind me. "_I'm very interested in seeing what type of people you have chosen to associate yourself with, Makita._" Ai said.

I looked down and glared at her, "I didn't choose to be here."

"_Then why are you here?_" Ai asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Because the life of someone I love was threatened." I stated bitterly.

There was a slight pause from Ai, "_How far away is this kitchen? I'm starving_!" She said, changing the subject.

"Here." I said, opening the door. I looked in and grimaced at the sight of Hidan and Kisame in the kitchen. This sucked. Ai walked in ahead of me.

"_I demand you get me something to eat. Now. Before I-_" Ai stopped mid-sentence and stared at Kisame. "_Holy hell, that's a big fish! I want to eat that. What breed is it? I bet it tastes like shark fin soup. Sure, it looks freakish, but right now, I'm not going to be picky. I'll eat anything._"

I stared at Ai. I could practically see the drool drip from her mouth as she stared at him. Was she seriously considering eating Kisame?

"Hey, bitch! What the fuck is that grey thing?" Hidan asked, leaning over the counter to stare at Ai.

I rolled my eyes, "It's a cat, you fucking dumb ass."

"I know that!" Hidan huffed.

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to my cat. Ai was slowly stalking towards Kisame. He glanced at her and raised his eyebrow, "Makita-san, what is that cat doing?"

"She wants to eat you." I said nonchalantly.

"What?" Kisame asked, giving me a strange look.

"She thinks you look like a fish, so she wants to ingest you." I said.

Kisame snorted, "I'm not a fish."

I grabbed Ai and put her on the counter. I went to the fridge and rummaged around. I pulled out some strips of raw meat. That would have to do. I turned around and saw Ai rubbing up against Hidan's leg. I glared at her and she looked up at me smugly. Hidan also looked at me and smirked, "It looks like your cat loves me, bitch."

"Fuck you. She's just planning on killing you in your sleep." I snapped.

"It sure as fucking hell doesn't seem that fucking way." Hidan goaded.

I clenched my fists and glared at Ai. "Traitor."

"_Makita, I am quite fond of this one. He smells delicious. Like blood. You two would make such adorable offspring together. _" Ai said, purring as she continued to rub up against Hidan's leg,

I made a noise that sounded like I was choking and glared at Ai some more. "You're fucked up."

Hidan laughed out loud at the expression on my face, "What bitch? You fucking jealous that your fucking cat gets to fucking feel me up? You fucking can too if you fucking want to, but the deal is, is that I get to fucking feel you up right back." Hidan said with a wink.

I scoffed, disgusted, "I was talking to my cat, asswipe."

"Why the fuck would you talk to a fucking cat?" Hidan laughed.

"Because I can." I snapped angrily, "And she's much more intelligent than you could ever hope to be."

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking whore." Hidan shouted.

"_Makita, please, don't argue with your future mate. It would be bad for the potential babies._" Ai said

I twitched and put the meat down. I needed to leave the room; otherwise, I would kill my cat. "You can feed yourself then." I said, glaring at Ai.

"But I want you to feed me." Hidan said with a slow, seductive smile. Why the fuck did the damn, crazy Jashinist always think I was talking to him.

I looked at Kisame. Kisame looked at me and snickered, "You're on your own."

"Ugh." I huffed, crossing my arms, "I wasn't talking to you, asswipe." I picked the meat back up, swiftly walked over to where Ai was still rubbing up against Hidan's leg and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and stalked angrily out of the room.

"_Hey!_" Ai shrieked, "_I demand you put me down!_"

I turned my deadly gaze to the grey cat, "Shut. The. Fuck. Up. I did not appreciate any of those comments back there. From now on, you're staying in my room." I hissed.

And for once, Ai stayed silent.

* * *

I yawned and trudged into the training room with my eyes half closed. I was deathly tired. I had stayed up late last night putting all of my belongings in their rightful places. All of my hair, except my bangs, which still covered my eye, was pulled into a low ponytail. I was wearing some tight black shorts I only used for training and a light blue tank top. I fully opened my eyes to see Itachi sitting serenely in the middle of the training room. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. His legs were crossed and his arms were resting gently in his lap. He looked so peaceful, so angelic. I stared at him, studying his calm face. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I shook my head. I was turning into a girly girl. I needed to shut up these thoughts.

I walked over and sat by Itachi. His eyes remained shut and he said, "You're two minutes late."

"I woke up late." I said, rolling my eyes. It was only two minuets, who cared?

"For that, you and I will train for two extra hours today." Itachi said monotonously.

"What!" I yelled.

"Punctuality is important." Itachi stated.

I grumbled angrily under my breath. I knew not to argue with Itachi, because all he'd do is just sit there, still as stone, and make me look like and idiot. "What are we working on today?" I asked.

"We'll work on taijutsu first and finish with genjutsu." The Uchiha answered.

I nodded, staring at Itachi. He opened his eyes and calmly looked at me. I continued to stare at his stunning features and he blinked slowly. I followed the movement of his eyelids, his long eyelashes brushing his cheekbones. His skin was as pale as porcelain and as smooth as glass. He really must be some sort of dark angel. I studied Itachi's face for a few more moments, until I snapped out of my ogling of Itachi with a twitch of my eye and I stood up. I swear there was something wrong with me. It was probably from not being able to go outside for such a long time.

"So," I said, "Let's get going."

Itachi nodded slightly and stood up in one fluid motion, "I will not go easy on you."

"I know." I sighed as I got into a fighting stance. "No genjutsu, right?" I asked, clarifying.

"Just taijutsu for now." Itachi answered me.

"Got it." I said, letting out a huff of air. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was nervous for this fight.

Suddenly, Itachi was in front of me in, throwing a punch at my face. I quickly dodged and blocked the punch aimed for my shoulder. I turned into a bird and shot to the air, turning back into my normal form and slamming a chakra filled kick down to the ground, straight for Itachi. Itachi moved out of the way and I left a small crater in the stone ground where my leg landed. I got up quickly and dodged a barrage of kunai knives. My body hit the ground and I rolled out of the way of a deadly punch. I jumped up and grabbed some shuriken and flung them at the illusive sharingan user. He disappeared and reappeared right in front of me. With a grunt, I dove out of the way of Itachi's fist and created three shadow clones. Itachi created three of his own clones and sent them after mine. I ran and jumped a few feet in the air, aiming a kick at Itachi's pretty face. He blocked my kick and parried my attack with one of his own. His leg struck my shoulder and sent me flying through the air. My already injured shoulder hit the ground first, the rest of my body following after. I skidded along the ground and before I had time to gather my bearings, Itachi was already above me, aiming to render me unconscious.

I shifted into a tiger and swiped at Itachi's leg. I was able to rip his pants, but I was unable to damage is actual leg. Sweat made my clothes stick to every curve and dent of my body. We fought for what felt like hours, throwing kicks and punches and kunai and shuriken at each other at blinding speeds. Blood was trickling down my forehead, my arms, and my legs, where I had shallow cuts from the kunai and shuriken Itachi had thrown at me and I had been unable to dodge. I was gasping for air and sweat dripped from my forehead and splashed to the ground with each and every movement I made. Itachi was fluidly and gracefully deflecting all of my blows. He had hardly even broke a sweat and it looked like he could keep fighting for hours on end. I was getting tired. It was hard to block all of Itachi's super fast blows.

Itachi kicked at my legs, sweeping them out from under me. I landed on my back. My back hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of me, "I… need… break…can't… breathe…" I gasped out, trying to get as much oxygen into my air deprived lungs.

Itachi stood near me, gracefully sitting down next to me. How did he do that? He was always so fluid in all of his motions. I was jealous. "You fought well."

"Is… that… a compliment?" I choked out, still trying to get my breathing back to normal.

"Hn." Itachi said with a nod so slight, if I wasn't staring at him so intently, I would have missed it.

I sat up. My body hurt. I hadn't trained that hard since I trained with Gai. I wiped my sweaty forehead with my arm, "What's next?" I asked.

"That is enough for today. We shall save genjutsu for tomorrow." Itachi said, standing and walking to the door, "Same time tomorrow. Do not be late."

I nodded and flopped back onto the ground. I sighed. What was I going to do now? I heard the door open and I turned my head slightly to see who it was. I groaned out loud. It was Tobi. How the hell did that kid always know where I was? And why the fuck did he never leave me alone?

"Maki-chan!" Tobi squealed when he saw me, "What are you doing!"

"What does it look like?" I hissed.

"Being lazy!" Tobi giggled.

"No. I just finished training, idiot." I snapped.

"Oh! So that's why Maki-chan is all wet!" Tobi exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, deciding to ignore the fucking annoying masked man. I walked by Tobi and he fanned his hand in front of his face, "Maki-chan smells bad! She sweats a lot!"

"Gah! Shut up!" I snapped.

"Maki-chan should go shower!" Tobi said.

"What do you think I'm going to go and fucking do right now?" I asked angrily.

Tobi paused, seeming to think over what he was going to say next, "Go and shower?" He said excitedly.

"Yes Tobi. Now fuck off." I said as I left the training room.

"But Tobi wants to play with Maki-chan!" Tobi cried, following after me.

I walked down the halls, trying not to flip out at Tobi. "I'm going for a shower."

"Can Tobi come too!" Tobi asked.

I turned around and punched Tobi in the shoulder, hard. I heard a small crack. "No Tobi. Fuck. Off." I wasn't sure if Tobi knew what he was insinuating, but hell, if there was any reason to hurt the damn immature fucker, I would take it.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Tobi screeched, holding onto his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and kept walking to my room. Tobi really need to fucking grow up. I opened the door and was about to slam it behind me when Tobi stood in the doorway, preventing me from closing the door. I huffed and glared at him. "What do you fucking want?"

"Maki-chan is so mean to Tobi!" Tobi yelled, stepping into my room.

I rolled my eyes and went to my dresser, puling out a new set of clothes to change into, "And Tobi is so god damn annoying, he makes Maki-chan want to kill herself by jumping off a cliff."

Tobi gasped, "Maki-chan would never do that!"

"If you don't shut the hell up, I will." I threathened.

Tobi covered his mouth and gasped again.

"Get the fuck out of my room, Tobi." I said as I slammed the door to the bathroom shut, locking it behind me. I peeled off my sweaty clothes and ripped the ponytail out of my sweat-drenched hair. I went to the shower and turned the hot water on full. I stepped into the hot water and grabbed a bar of blood orange scented soap, scrubbing my body to wash away the sweat and dirt and blood. I then washed my hair with blood orange shampoo and conditioned it with raspberry conditioner. I stood in the hot water for a few seconds longer, enjoying the smell of oranges and raspberries. I stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying my hair quickly. I ran a brush through my damp hair, making sure my bangs covered the scar on my eye. I put on a red tank top and a pair of baggy black pants and I applied some black eyeliner.

I opened the door to the bathroom and felt a blast of cool air hit my body as the steam escaped out of the bathroom. I glared darkly when I saw that Tobi was still in my room. "I thought I told you to get the fuck out?"

"But Tobi wants to play with Maki-chan!" Tobi whined, crossing his arms over his chest.

I rolled my eyes, throwing my sweaty and dirty clothes in a pile on the floor. I walked out of the door of my room. Tobi skipped after me. "Tobi, leave me the fuck alone. I don't want to play with you." I said, annoyed.

"I know what we could do!" Tobi giggled.

"What?" I growled. I wasn't in the mood to deal with Tobi's childish bullshit.

"Maki-chan can tell Tobi about herself!" Tobi said happily.

"No." I snapped, stopping and glaring at the masked annoyance.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease! Tobi will tell Maki-chan about himself!" Tobi whined.

"No." I said.

"Please." Tobi begged.

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"Sure." I said sarcastically.

"Really!" Tobi said excitedly.

"No." I glared and began walking away.

Tobi latched himself onto my leg, "Maki-chaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"What?" I screeched. I was far past annoyed. I was really, really pissed off.

"Can Tobi ask Maki-chan some questions?" Tobi asked.

"No." I said.

"Why is Maki-chan so mean!" Tobi cried.

"Maybe I'd be nicer if you'd stop fucking bothering me and leave me the fuck alone." I muttered.

"Tobi wants to know where Maki-chan is from!" Tobi said, looking up at me expectantly. He was still holding onto my leg like a leech.

I sighed, "If I tell you, will you let go of my leg and leave me the hell alone?"

"Yup!" Tobi said brightly.

"Fine." I huffed, "I'm from the Village Hidden by the Shape Shifters."

"Yay!" Tobi squealed, letting go of my leg and standing up, "Does Maki-chan have any family members?"

"Two sisters, parents, and grandparents." I think. My eye twitched.

"Why was Maki-chan buried?" Tobi asked, looking intently at my face.

"… I think… it was because I rebelled against my village… I'm not one hundred percent sure…" I trailed off.

Tobi let out an exaggerated gasp, "Does Maki-chan not remember!"

"I don't. Now, fuck off, okay?" I glared as I walked away from Tobi.

"But Tobi didn't tell Maki-chan about himself yet!" Tobi wailed as he ran after me.

"I don't care." I hissed, walking faster.

"Awwwwwwwweh! I Maki-chan mad that she can't remember?" Tobi asked, keeping his pace even with mine and poking my cheek.

"No." I said tensely.

"Tobi can help Maki-chan!" Tobi shouted.

"I don't want any of your fucking help." I hissed, closing my eyes and grinding my teeth together.

"Maybe that's why Maki-chan is weak." Tobi said quietly.

"What?" I asked darkly, turning to face Tobi.

"Maki-chan is weak because she can't remember anything!" Tobi said louder, turning to face me. I could tell her was smiling under his mask.

"I'm not weak." I said tersely.

"Yes! Maki-chan IS weak!" Tobi giggled.

"Tobi, I am going to kill you if you don't shut the fuck up." I threatened.

"But Maki-chan is too weak to kill Tobi! Maki-chan needs to train more! Lots more!" Tobi said, throwing his arms in the air and laughing like the idiot he is.

That was the last straw. I knew I was weak compared to the rest of the Akatsuki members, but I hated it when others pointed out my obvious flaws. My fists clenched together tightly and my knuckles turned white. I took a few deep breaths. I must stay calm. I must stay calm. I repeated the sentence over and over in my head. I cannot kill Tobi. I must stay calm.

"Tobi doesn't even think Maki-chan can hit him." Tobi whispered in my ear from behind me.

I whirled around, my fists flew out to punch Tobi, but all I hit was air. My mouth gaped open. How the fucking hell did he move so fast?

"Told you so." Tobi giggled. I could hear an edge of smugness in his voice.

"Go die in a fire." I glared.

"Awwwwwwwwww! MAKI-CHAN!" Tobi squealed loudly, wrapping his arms around my tightly and rubbing his masked face into my hair, "Tobi will make sure Maki-chan gets trained really well and Tobi will make Maki-chan really, really strong! No matte what!" Tobi giggled again, "Maki-chan smells good!" Tobi said, taking a deep inhale of air and rubbing his face into my hair even more vigorously.

Tobi started skipping down the hallway, my feet being dragged and him still crushing me into his chest and smelling my hair. This kid had so many fucking problems. Fuck my life.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading.**

**Reviews are always appreciated. :]**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15! I now have over two hundred reviews! TWO HUNDRED! When I first started this, I never thought I'd get that many reviews. Thank you all so, so, SO much! I means a lot to me and reviews always make me want to update faster! I can't express how thankful I am to you wonderful readers! Once again, I thank all of you amazing reviewers, as well as you fantastic people who put the story on alert or favourite my story, as well as those awesome people who added me as a favourite author! I am sad to say that there won't be a new chapter for at least two weeks, since I'll be away on summer holidays! Also, I must give a huge thank you Kirathis-chan! She gave me many ideas for this chapter (and future ones) and she owns the wonderful snowy haired OC that's mentioned in this chapter! OH! And check out my profile. Kirathis-chan (who is amazingly talented!) drew some amazing artwork of Makita! Anyways, on to the chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

I leaned my forehead against the wall of the stone cavern. It had been two weeks of hell. Pure and utter hell. Itachi had decided to step up my genjutsu training to fifteen-hour days, seven days a week, with a few hours or ninjutsu and taijutsu thrown in there randomly. I don't know how he did it. I was always dead tired when I went to train with him, but he always looked refreshed, calm, cool, and collected. At the moment, I was breathing heavily. The stitches in my arm I had received a few days ago while doing some taijutsu training had somehow been ripped open while I was in the genjutsu Itachi had cast. Blood dripped down my arm, leaving crimson stains the same colour as my hair on my skin, pooling in a deformed puddle on the ground. Itachi walked calmly over to me and leaned his back against the wall.

"Good job." Itachi said quietly.

"Really?" I asked, gasping for air and tilting my tired head to the side to look at Itachi.

"That was a jounin level genjutsu. Although it took you a while to realize and release it, you still managed break it." Itachi explained, glancing at me.

I turned sluggishly, so my back was against the wall, and I slid down it until my butt hit the floor. "I suck."

Itachi let out a quite sigh and sat down beside me elegantly. He pulled out bandages from somewhere in his cloak. "You've improved. Give me your arm. We'll get Konan to heal it later."

I held out my bleeding arm to the Uchiha and he gently grabbed it, wrapping the bandages gingerly around the ripped stitches. I winced slightly. That was probably going to scar.

"Before, you could hardly handle a genin level genjutsu. Now, you can break through a jounin level genjutsu. It may take you a… long time… to do so, but you are still able to break it." Itachi said.

I stared at him, "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say."

"Hn." Itachi muttered.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Do you have any pointers on how to improve my genjutsu?"

"Well… Genjutsu is created when a ninja extends their chakra flow through the cerebral nervous system of their opponent to control their mind's chakra, therefore affecting the victim's five senses… Those with special abilities or with high intelligence have an easier time executing and countering genjutsu, as attention to detail is key." Itachi explained.

"Did you just call me stupid?" I asked, deadpan.

Itachi ignored me and continued, "Those under the influence of genjutsu either freeze in place or lose consciousness. You, Makita, usually freeze in place, but on occasion, you end up passing out."

I rolled my eyes and stared at the ground. This was boring as fuck.

"Genjutsu is all depending on how capable the victim is in recognizing and defending against the genjutsu. Genjutsu attacks usually require a lot of skill and if performed incorrectly, the genjutsu will not work. Genjutsu is most often used by ninja with very precise chakra control and very high intelligence. To break a genjutsu, the victim can stop the flow of chakra to their body and apply an even stronger power to break the genjutsu and disrupt the flow of the genjutsu caster's chakra. You could also cause yourself intense pain that is not caused by the genjutsu to bring back your senses and break the genjutsu, which is what you did, by ripping your stitches open, to get out of that last genjutsu… Does that make sense?" Itachi said, in the same boring, monotone voice he always uses.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up from the ground. I had completely zoned out and hadn't really heard a word he said.

"Is that understood?" Itachi asked calmly, staring at me with his gorgeous onyx eyes.

"Uh… yeah." I mumbled.

Itachi let out a sigh, "Makita-san, please pay attention."

"I am!" I protested.

"Then repeat everything I just said." Itachi said.

I glared at the raven-haired man, "Fine. I wasn't listening."

Itachi stared at me for a few moments. "Makita-san, you must listen if you want to get better. I will only repeat this once more. I expect you to remember this."

I nodded and listened to Itachi re-explain the entire concept of genjutsu. He was sure talkative today. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall as he talked. I stared at his lips as they formed words. They were so delicate. My eyes traveled over his face, taking in and admiring his beauty. He was just so… wow. Itachi's gorgeous onyx eyes opened and stared back at me. I looked away and shifted my body, only to realize that Itachi was still holding my arm. I looked at him again and raised my eyebrow. Itachi let of my arm and continued to stare at me. I stared back.

"You should shower. You're covered in blood." Itachi observed.

I smirked, "I know that."

"We shall continue training tomorrow, same time." He said in his normal monotone voice.

I nodded and watched as Itachi stood up gracefully. He left the training room with a swish of his Akatsuki cloak. I sighed. I really needed to go outside and get some fresh air. Being cooped up in here for so long was making me slowly go insane and think strange things about Itachi. I mean, hell, he was good looking, but when I was around him, all I could think about was how perfect he was. That couldn't be healthy.

I stood up and walked out the door. Itachi was right. I was covered in blood. Ew. I could feel the dried blood flake with every move I made. I entered my room and noticed Ai sleeping in the middle of my bed. I rolled my eyes at her laziness and walked into the bathroom, peeling off all of my bloody clothes. How much fucking blood came out of my arm anyways? I winced when my shirt pulled against the bandages that Itachi had wrapped around my now open stitches. I felt a small smile appear on my face. That was… nice of Itachi to do that. I jumped into the shower and turned the water on. The cool water shot out of the showerhead, rinsing off the dried blood from my sore body, turning the water a light shade of pink. I washed myself lightly with soap. The crisp smell of blood orange floated through the air and I inhaled the scent. I washed and then conditioned my hair. I stood in the water for a long time, letting the water pound at my aching body mercilessly.

I was still bothered by how Tobi called me weak. I was not! I had improved greatly in the past two weeks and I was getting stronger. I was going to kick the little son of a bitch's ass.

The only good part about all of the training I've been doing with Itachi was that I barely saw Tobi anymore. He was still an annoying fucker though. I always have to try to not kill him every time he's around. I clenched my hands into fists, but grimaced when my arm started throbbing painfully. I unwrapped the bandages and let them fall to the floor of the shower, so I could inspect the damage. I looked at my arm and frowned. I could see the ripped muscle tissues and how my arm was still oozing blood. I shut off the shower and grabbed a towel. I dried my body quickly and ran the towel quickly through my hair. I brushed back my hair and shook it out, leaving my bangs out of my face. I wrapped the towel around my body, the red fabric ending mid thigh.

I opened the door and exited the bathroom, but I was shocked to see the blonde head of Deidara sitting on my bed, next to Ai, and picking at his nails. How the fuck did these damn Akatsuki members keep getting into my room? I raised my eyebrow at him, "What the fuck are you doing in here, Blondie?"

Deidara looked up lazily, his eyes widening when he realized that I was only in a towel. I could care less if he saw me in the piece of red fabric, since he wasn't actually seeing anything other than my legs, arms, and bare shoulders. "Konan sent me here to heal your arm, yeah. She said she had other things to do, hm." Deidara said, staring at me.

"You can heal wounds?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah, hm. Just flesh wounds, nothing more than that though, yeah." Deidara said

I rolled my eyes and walked over to him, sitting beside him on the bed and holding out my arm to the blonde bomber, "Then heal it."

Deidara smirked and grabbed my arm (not very gently, by the way) and pulled me closer to him, making my arm throb painfully again. I glared and scooted as far away from him as possible. Deidara smirked again and placed his hand on my wound. I soon felt the warm green chakra tingle my wound and slowly start to mend my ripped skin and muscle. "I didn't know you had a scar over your eye, yeah." Deidara said randomly, looking intently at my face, "Where did you get it, hm?"

"None of your business." I snorted.

"You could at least tell me since I'm healing your arm, hm." Deidara shot back.

"It's a long story." I sighed. My stupidity was not something I wanted to talk about to the arrogant Akatsuki member.

"I have time, yeah. I'm not that good at healing, so it'll take longer than it usually would, hm." Deidara explained.

I rolled my eyes, "I got it while I was training."

"That wasn't a long story, yeah." Deidara said.

I smirked, "I know."

"How did you get the scar when you were training, hm?" Deidara asked, "And don't give me some bullshit answer, yeah, otherwise I'll stop healing your arm, hm."

I rolled my eyes again. Who was Deidara going to tell anyways? "I ran into a tree branch, it sliced my eye and half of my face. I got my eye healed, but my skin wasn't saved. Therefore, this scar."

"I see why you wear your hair to cover it, hm. Its one hell of an ugly scar." Deidara said, stating the obvious.

"I know that, Blondie. That's _why_ I keep my eye covered." I glared at him, "God, you're fucking stupid."

Deidara glared back at me and the tingling sensation stopped. I looked down to see that my arm was only half healed. "If I'm so stupid, then you can heal your own arm, hm." Deidara said, getting up from my bed and walking to the door.

"Ugh. Fine. You're not that fucking stupid. Just finish healing this." I huffed.

Deidara turned around, smirking, "Only if you do something for me, yeah."

"What would I have to do?" I asked, cautiously.

A sly smile worked its way into the terrorist's face, "I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Just finish healing my fucking arm, before you fucking piss me off." I said, letting the threat behind my words seep through.

"Fine, yeah. Don't get your panties in a damn bunch." Deidara snapped, annoyed.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not wearing any."

There was an awkward pause and Deidara walked back over to me, grabbing my arm and pushing his green, healing chakra onto it. I laughed. "Did I embarrass you?"

"No, yeah. That was just unexpected, coming from you, hm." Deidara said.

"You're such a fucking idiot." I sighed.

"No I'm not, yeah!" Deidara protested.

"You fucking are." I said, shifting my eyes over to him.

"I'm the Akatsuki member here. So shut up, hm!" Deidara snapped.

"Whatever, douche." I smirked, thinking of more ways to get under his skin, "You couldn't get a girl, even if you tried. They'd be too worried about looking like a fucking lesbian when they'd be with you."

"Fuck you, bitch, yeah!" Deidara said, standing up and punching my half-healed arm.

"What the fuck!" I screeched back, standing up also and punching Deidara's arm as well. That fucking hurt like hell. "What the fuck was that for!"

"For your information, hm, I DO have a girl, yeah!" Deidara raged at me.

I scoffed, "Oh please."

"I do, yeah!" Deidara huffed, glaring darkly at me.

"I'll believe it when I see it, Blondie." I smirked at Deidara as I flopped down on the bed.

"Fuck, yeah! I do! She's the most gorgeous girl on the planet, hm!" Deidara defended angrily.

I laughed mockingly, "Whatever. Like I said, I'll believe it when I see it. So, are you going to finish healing my fucking arm?"

"Fine, yeah. But I do have a fucking amazing girl." Deidara said, glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes. Deidara's attempt to convince me was pathetic. "I don't fucking care. Just heal my fucking arm."

Deidara huffed and sat down on the bed next to me, "You're a bitch, hm."

"You say it like I don't already know it." I grinned slyly at him.

Deidara rolled his eyes and me and began healing my arm again.

"Are you almost fucking done? You take forever." I yawned, I was tired.

"Almost, yeah." Deidara answered.

"Hell, you take forever." I mumbled.

Deidara glared darkly at me, "I told you, I can only heal surface wounds, yeah."

"You still take forever." I said.

"Then do it yourself, hm." Deidara growled.

I paused and wrinkled my nose, "I don't fucking know how."

"Then shut up, yeah." Deidara glared at me.

"Fuck, whatever, Deidara-chan." I said with a sly smile on my face.

Deidara stopped healing my arm and glared at me, "What did I tell you about insinuating I'm a girl, hm?"

"To not do it?" I said innocently.

"Yeah, un. Don't do it again, or I'll do something that you won't like, yeah." Deidara threatened.

"Uh huh. Sure…" I said, "Girly man." I mumbled under my breath. I couldn't help it. I loved pushing his buttons.

Deidara grabbed the pieces of wire that were holding the rest of my stitches intact, and ripped the wire out harshly, ruining the newly healed skin that the bomber had just healed.

My eyes widened and I bit back a scream of pain. Deidara grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my face down so it was even with his. Angry ice blue eyes met my pain filled yellow ones. "Do not ever call me a girl or insinuate that I am a female again, okay, yeah? Otherwise, you won't be able to move for a long time, hm." Deidara threatened, his voice dangerously low.

I glared at Deidara and grasped his wrist, digging my nails into his wrist and prying his hand out of my hair, "Fine."

"Good, yeah." Deidara hissed, returning to heal my arm.

I rolled my eyes and bit back a retort. I had to close my eyes and breathe calmly. I must not kill Deidara for ripping out my stitches. I must not kill Deidara. I must not kill him. I opened my eyes when I deemed myself calm enough I glanced over at the blonde terrorist. He looked so fucking feminine. Like I was actually going to listen to him. Stupid blonde. A few more very long moments of tense silence passed by and soon, Deidara let go of my arm, "All done, hm."

I looked down at my arm, seeing only a pale scar that was only visible when you stretched the skin out where my stitches used to be. "You didn't fuck up like I thought you would." I muttered quietly.

"You're welcome." Deidara said cockily, taking my words as thanks, "Now you should put some clothes on."

Suddenly the door burst open and an out of breath Tobi came barrelling through the door, screaming, "Sempai! Sempai!"

Deidara immediately got a very annoyed look on his face, "What do you want, you idiot, yeah?"

"Zetsu said he was going to eat Tobi!" Tobi squealed unhappily.

Deidara smacked his hand to his face and rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache, "I wish Zetsu _would_ eat you, hmm." He muttered.

"What was that sempa…" Tobi trailed off, staring at the sight of Deidara and me on my bed, with me only wearing a towel. "WHAT WERE YOU AND MAKI-CHAN DOING, DEIDARA-SEMPAI?" Tobi screeched loudly.

I let out a loud groan, "Tobi, get the fuck out of my room."

"D-d-d-d-Deidara-sempai… did you…" Tobi whispered and looked around the room, as if to make sure no one else was listening, "_deflower_ Maki-chan!"

Deidara snorted, "Do you even know what deflower means, you annoying brat, yeah?"

"It means… to… to… pop her cherry…" Tobi whispered, like it was the most horrible thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes, "One, I am not a fucking virgin, and two, I would never fucking want to have fucking sexual intercourse with a 'man' who looks more like a girl than I do."

"And I would never set my standards lower and sleep with an ugly fire crotch bitch that has anger management issues." Deidara snapped.

"I resent that comment." I hissed at Deidara.

"Then what were you two doing in here, with Maki-chan almost naked?" Tobi asked curiously.

"He was just healing my arm, Tobi. Now fuck off." I sighed; also rubbing my forehead like Deidara was just moments before.

"Oh Maki-chan! Tobi was so worried about you!" Tobi yelled, running towards me.

I twitched. "Don't touch me. Both of you get the fuck out. I'm going to put clothes on."

Deidara walked out of the room hurriedly, but Tobi stayed behind and stared at me. I glared at him. "Maki-chan will play with Tobi later, right?" The masked man asked excitedly.

"No." I sighed. I was really losing the tiny shred of patience I had left.

"?" Tobi asked.

"Leave me alone and I'll consider it." I glared.

"Okay!" Tobi said cheerfully, skipping out of my room.

I slammed the door shut and chuckled. That was easier than I thought it would be. I flung the towel away from my body and opened the top drawer of my dresser, pulling out a very long pyjama shirt and under garments. I slipped on my chosen clothes and hopped into my very comfortable bed. Screw Tobi. I was dead tired after all of my training and there was no way in all of hell that I would be leaving this room until I had to wake up from more training with Itachi tomorrow morning. I smushed my face into my pillow and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

I was awoken at the sound of a loud banging at my door. I grumbled multiple curses and turned over, covering my head with a pillow. The banging continued. I tried to ignore it, but the banging just got louder and more urgent. I let out an angry groan and shuffled out of bed. Who the fuck would want to wake me up at… I glanced at my alarm clock, 12:30 in the fucking morning! Whoever it was would need to have a really good fucking reason for interrupting my slumber, otherwise I was going to kill them.

I stomped, well more like stumbled, to the door and flung it open angrily, "What… the… _fuck_… do you want?" I hissed when I saw the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes of Deidara.

Deidara smirked and shoved a picture in my face. I smacked his hand away and grabbed the picture. The picture was of a girl. A gorgeous girl at that. I looked at Deidara with a raised eyebrow and growled, "What the fucking hell is this and why the fuck did you make me wake the fuck up to fucking shove this piece of fucking shit in my fucking face, you goddamn fucking jackass?"

Deidara smirked cockily and said, "That's my girl, yeah. Go ahead and take a long hard look at it. She's a beauty, hm."

I snarled inhumanly at him, but looked at the picture anyways. The girl in the picture had snow white hair, with fringes of it covering her forehead. Her snowy hair was slightly parted on her left eye and some of the bangs were freely curling around her angelic face. She was leaning slightly over a table with her chin resting in her hand. She was staring at the camera, a confused expression on her face. Her lips were parted gingerly, as if she was about to say something, and her golden amber eyes had a glint of confusion in them, as if to ask the person (who I assumed would be Deidara) why the hell they had a camera. Her skin was very pale, kind of like porcelain, and she had red markings going halfway down her cheeks. There were two on each eye, the inner red marking being shorter than the outer one. Her right eyebrow was slightly raised and her head was tilted lightly to the side. She was cute and much more fucking beautiful than I could ever hope to be. How the fuck did a girl like this end up with Deidara? She looked calm and delicate, while Deidara was… loud and explosive.

I raised my eyebrow at Deidara, "I still don't believe you."

Deidara gaped at me, "How can you not, yeah? I got to a picture, hm!"

"Sure, you got me a fucking picture, but you could have just found this randomly. And she looks like she could do so much better than you. Get me a picture with her _and _you in it, and then maybe I'll believe you." I grinned. I could tell I was pushing the wrong buttons.

Deidara's face became red and he all but yelled angrily, "Shut up, yeah! You don't know anything! Just because you've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean you have to be jealous of others, hm!"

I raised a sleepy eyebrow, "How do you know I've never had a boyfriend?"

Deidara paused momentarily, "I can just tell, hm." He snapped.

"Whatever," I said, flipping my hand dismissively, "Now, you better tell me why the fuck you woke me up to show me a fucking picture."

"Well, I a-"

"Brat, hurry up. You've kept me waiting for over fifteen minutes." I heard the deadly voice of Sasori say as he came into view.

"I'll be right there, Sasori-danna!" Deidara snapped.

"No. Now. You know how I hate to be kept waiting." The puppet man stated, turning around and going back the way he came.

"Mission?" I asked.

"Yeah, hm. That's why I woke you up, yeah, so I could show you the picture before I left." Deidara grinned.

I stared at Deidara, "You fucking asshole. You _had_ to show me? You couldn't have waited until you got back?" I hissed.

"Yeah, hm." Deidara smirked.

I growled, "I'm going to fucking kill you."

"Well, it was nice talking to you Makita-san, but I need to be going." Deidara said hurriedly, "One last thing before I go, you look like shit."

"You little fucker!" I said, taking a step forward. Before I could strangle the life out of the blonde bomber, he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

I glared where the stupid ass of an Akatsuki member last stood and glanced down at the picture I still had in my hand. There was no way in hell that a girl as pretty as the one in the picture could like an asshole like Deidara. I turned around and slammed my bedroom door behind me, tossing the picture of the girl (on the back of the picture it said: _Hikari-chan in the kitchen_), Hikari, on my nightstand and falling face first onto my bed. I was out before I even hit the mattress.

* * *

My eyes fluttered open and I glanced towards my alarm clock on the dresser. It was 3:36 AM. I didn't have to be up for another two and a half hours. I had already been awoken once tonight, so why the hell had I woken up again? I usually sleep like the dead – nothing, not even an explosion, can wake me up. My eyes wandered around the room, scanning the shadows. I saw a shift in the darkness out of the corner of my eye and I snapped my head over to the dark corner of my room. I glared. What the fuck was that? It was too dark in my room to clearly see anything and I couldn't feel any type of chakra signature. The figure shifted closer to my bed. I sat up, my glare becoming more intense, "Who the fuck's there?"

"Me." A low voice answered.

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "That's really descriptive."

The figure stepped closer to me and I saw the mask of the bane of my existence. Tobi. "You look peaceful when you sleep. Unbothered. Happy, even. It's quite refreshing from your usual angry and pissed off self." The masked man said.

"Tobi, fuck off. Why the fucking hell are you watching me sleep?" I asked. I was really pissed off.

"Because you look rather beautiful when you're asleep." Tobi said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I stared at Tobi for a long time, "I'm pissed off, I'm tired, you can see my scar, I have bad morning breath, and my hair in no doubt a mess. Don't lie. I look like shit. You are severely fucked in the head. Now, get out of my room and let me sleep in peace before I rip that damn mask off your face and shove it down your throat until it comes out your ass."

Tobi chuckled, "Such a sharp tongue you have."

I let out a frustrated growl and threw the blankets off of me. I stood up, grinding my teeth together and my fists clenched, and I walked over to Tobi, grabbing the back of his neck and bringing his face close to mine, so we were eye level. "Listen closely, because I am only going to say this once. Let me sleep. Do not watch me when I sleep. If I ever find out you were watching me again, I swear that I will fucking kill you." I hissed dangerously. No one woke me up at this ungodly hour and got away with it.

"Oh, Makita. You're so funny." Tobi chuckled again.

I let out a deranged shriek and grabbed a fistful of Tobi's hair, pulling him harshly towards the exit. I threw opened my door forcefully and pushed Tobi out of my room. He didn't stumble or fall like he usually would. Instead, he spun around gracefully so he was facing me. "Pleasant dreams, Makita." Tobi said, bringing his hand up to gently caress my face.

"GAH!" I shrieked as I smacked his hand away from my face, "Go fucking die." I snarled as I slammed the door in the masked annoyance's face.

I trudged back to bed and fell gracelessly onto the bed. And once again, I was asleep in an instant.

* * *

I looked in the fridge and let out a disgusted snort. There was nothing edible. Even if there was something that wasn't completely rotten, I didn't want to take a chance and get food poisoning. I, along with Konan and Leader, were the only ones in the 'lair'. Everyone else was out on some sort of mission. I had asked Konan if I could go outside, she said no. Apparently I still wasn't 'trustworthy' enough to be left alone outside. Stupid criminals.

I sat on the bar stool and stared off into space. I had decided that the whole 'Tobi watching me sleep' thing was just some sort of horrible nightmare. It was probably because I didn't eat anything before I went to sleep, which is why my dream was like being fucked sideways by a plastic shuriken. I yawned and leaned my head on my hand. It was nice to have a break from training, but sadly, there was nothing to do. I was bored and fuck and I wanted to go outside.

"Makita-san." The light and airy voice of Konan called from behind me.

I turned around on the bar stool, "Yes, Konan-san?"

"Please come with me. Leader-sama has something to discuss with you." The blue haired woman said.

I nodded and got up off the bar stool, rolling my eyes at Konan as soon as her back was turned. Konan and I walked down the halls of the Akatsuki base, until we reached the office belonging to Leader. Konan knocked softly and opened the door without waiting for an answer. "Leader-sama, Makita-san and I are here."

Leader turned around to look at us both, "Makita, please have a seat." The pierced man said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk.

I sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair and asked, "So… what am I here for?"

"Makita, Konan informed you of what would happen if your skills did not improve greatly, correct?" Leader asked with a blank expression on his face.

I nodded, "Yes, she did."

"Good, good." Leader said, sitting behind his desk. I could see Konan hiding in the shadows behind the spiky-haired Leader. "Well, while your skills have improved, they are still not as well developed as they should be."

"Don't I still have two more weeks to improve them?" I asked, glaring.

"Do not interrupt me." Leader glared darkly at me, "You do have two more weeks to improve, but if you are not up to my standards by then, you will be killed."

"Why are you telling me this when I still have two weeks left to train, Leader-sama?" I asked, annoyed.

"This is just a reminder." He said.

"Alright…" I hissed, "Is that all?"

"No. You have a mission with Itachi and Kisame." Leader said, "You will meet them on the border of Kumogakure. They will inform you about the mission when you get there. They are expecting you to meet them there in two days' time. Pack your bags and leave immediately. Konan will give you directions before you leave the base. Understood?"

I nodded, "Yes." I said. Then I stood up and walked out of the office.

I was excited. I was finally going to be able to go outside! Although I found it odd how only a day ago, I was deemed 'untrustworthy' of going outside by myself, when now, I was going to have to travel to meet two Akatsuki members without any kind of supervision. It's not like I'm complaining or anything, it just seems strange. I walked into my room and grabbed a backpack, shoving a change of clothes, extra weapons, and some solider pills into my bag. If I had money, I would have taken it to buy food, since there was only rotten shit to eat here, but hell, I was a ninja. A shape-shifting ninja at that. I could just steal whatever I wanted. I quickly changed into a pair of baggy black pants with lots of pockets, my black ninja sandals, a black fishnet top with a navy blue tank top on top of it, and a thick, black travelling cloak. I strapped my kunai holder to my right leg. I saw my Konoha ninja headband in the corner of the drawer on my dresser. I stood for a few moments, debating on whether or not I should wear it. I decided against it. I didn't want to chance one of the Akatsuki members seeing it and putting a scratch through the headband. Sure, I was technically a missing nin now, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. With a sigh, I tossed my ninja headband back into the drawer and shut it.

Ai was sleeping on the desk in the corner of my room. I walked over to her and poked her awake, "Hey, I'm going on a mission."

Ai blinked a single eye open and looked at me with an irritated hiss, "_You woke me up only to tell me that?_"

I raised my eyebrow at the grumpy cat, "I just thought I'd tell you. You're allowed out of the room while I'm gone."

"_Oh? And why the sudden change of heart?_" Ai sniffed.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be gone for, so you'll have to feed yourself." I explained, "Just don't get killed while I'm gone."

"_I'm much too cute to be killed. Have fun on your mission._" Ai said, curling up into a ball and falling back asleep.

I rolled my eyes and tossed my bag over my shoulder. I walked out of my room and down the hall. I paused. I didn't actually know how to get out of the hideout. I was about to turn around when Konan walked out of the door to my right and glanced at me, "This way, Makita-san."

I nodded and followed behind the blue haired ninja. "So, where am I going?"

"For this mission, you will meet Kisame and Itachi on the border of Kumogakure. You have two days to get there, so move quickly. Do not stop unnecessarily. Time is of the essence." Konan said, "Do not try to run, escape, or contact anyone else. Other members will be keeping a close eye on you. If you are found to have made contact with anyone, you will be killed. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear." I said, nodding my head. It now made sense to why I was being 'let out on my own'. I wouldn't technically be alone. Zetsu would probably be tailing me, that creepy stalker of a plant.

"Good." Konan said, stopping by a solid rock wall. She quickly ran through a series of hand signs and slammed her hand on the side of the wall. A rock above me began to slowly move out of the w ay.

"Is this the same entrance I used when I first got here?" I asked.

Konan nodded her head slightly. I took a deep breath of air and jumped up through the hole. I was immediately splattered with thick raindrops. I was glad I decided to wear my cloak. "Move quickly." I heard Konan call from inside the hideout.

"I know." I said, letting out an irritated sigh.

I walked quickly away from the entrance of the hideout. The clouds were thick and dark and the rain was pelting down upon me mercilessly. My hair was already soaked and plastered to my face. Good thing my cloak was waterproof. As soon as I hit the cover of trees, I broke into a run. I jumped onto a high tree branch and continued to keep running, feeling the wind rip through my wet hair. The fresh air felt and smelled amazing. I had two days to make it to the border of Kumo. It sounded easy enough. I jumped out of the tree I had been standing on and spread my arms, instantly transforming into a falcon and speeding off towards my destination.

* * *

I flew for hours. It felt so good to be free. Although I knew that Akatsuki was keeping a close eye on me. I didn't know how close they were watching me, but I didn't want to take any chances. Well, not until they let their guard down a little bit more. I saw a lake below me and dove down towards it. I had made good time, so I could afford to take a break. I had cut through Fire Country and was now somewhere on the border of Sound and the unclaimed land near it. Flying was so much easier and quicker than running. I glided down to the shore and transformed back into my usual form. I shook my head, my hair now dry, and let the hair fall into place. I looked around the huge lake. It was surrounded by trees and looked quite beautiful.

I looked across the lake and saw three figures moving rapidly towards me. I was unable to feel a chakra signature, I stiffened. They were ninjas. And I had no idea who these ninjas were, their strengths, or their weaknesses. How could I have not noticed them before? I pulled out some kunai from my kunai holder and hid them in the sleeves of my cloak, just in case a fight should occur. The three ninjas quickly approached me and soon we were face to face. All three of them were men. One had white hair and glasses, another had long black hair, he was as pale as paper and had looked similar to a snake, the last man was Sasuke Uchiha. How did I know it was Sasuke? Well, the blazing red sharingan eyes were a dead giveaway. That and the fact that Sasuke looked so much like Itachi gave it away as well. As for the other two, I had no idea who the fuck they were. I knew that I should pay more attention to the bingo books, but I could care less.

"Hello." I greeted stonily, giving away no emotion.

"Hello," the man who looked like a snake hissed, "What's a pretty little thing like you doing all the way out here?"

"Travelling." I said with a flick of my hand and a shrug, "And how about yourself?"

The snake man chuckled, "Simply training."

"Interesting." I said, "If that's all, I'll be on my way." I turned to leave, but was stopped by Sasuke, who appeared in front of me, a hand clamping down tightly onto my shoulder to prevent me from going anywhere. I raised my eyebrow at him, but he just stared at the snake guy with no emotion.

"Not so quickly…" Snake man said, smiling at me, "I was wondering, what jutsu was that? The one you used to change from a bird into a human?"

I grinned at him, "It wasn't a jutsu."

"Oh?" he said, his voice holding a tone of questioning as he came closer to me, "Then what was it?"

"You could call it a special ability." I answered. I was racking my brain. Sasuke went with some pedophile guy. Could this be him? He seemed to be pedophile-like. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was his name? I silently vowed to myself that I would pay more attention and study the bingo books when I got back to the Akatsuki base.

"And how does one go about getting this 'special ability' of yours?" The pedophile (I'm going to assume that this is the pedophile that Sakura told me about…) hissed with a smile.

I raised my eyebrow at him and stated, deadpan, "You're born with it."

"Ah… a bloodline limit… what clan are you from, Miss…?" He asked, getting closer to me. Sasuke's hand was still clamped down on my shoulder. I glared at him and shook his hand off, taking a step away from him.

I turned to the snake man and said, "My name is Makita. I am not from any clan you've heard of."

The snake man chuckled again. The annoying bastard sure did do lots of it. "Try me."

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Why not?" He asked with a steely glint in his eye.

"I don't fucking feel like it." I snapped, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be and people to see."

"Makita-chan, what village are you from?" The man smiled at me, gently putting his arm around both of my shoulders and guiding me closer to the man with glasses. I glared at him darkly. I didn't appreciate him adding the 'chan' to the end of my name, or the fact that he was touching me. I took in a deep, calming breath of air. I will not kill this pedophile. I will not rip his arms off and shove one down this throat and one up his ass. I will not kill anyone. I will not resort to violence. I kept repeating those phrases over and over in my head until I felt calmer. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Sasuke was trailing closely behind me and the pedophile.

I shrugged, trying not to let this snake fucker know that he was bothering the shit out of me, "I don't have a village."

"Oh? Would you be interested in joining one?" He asked the same twisted smile still in place on his face.

"No. I enjoy my freedom." I snarled. That was a partial lie. I didn't have much freedom in Akatsuki, but I'd rather be with a bunch of fucked up criminals bent on world domination than a pedophile rapist. I didn't like where this was headed.

"Ku ku ku, you're one to snap easily. Well, if you ever change your mind, come to the Sound Village. I'm Orochimaru and it would be my pleasure to have you there." Orochimaru said, smiling wider.

"Don't count on that happening." I growled.

"Why not? The sound village is an excellent place to live. We have amazing ninjas there and the training we offer to our ninjas is unbeatable anywhere else." He said.

"As I stated before, I do not belong to any village nor do I plan on becoming a part of one anytime soon." I said. My patience was wearing thin.

"It was just food for thought…" Orochimaru said, his smile still in place on his lips.

I rubbed my forehead in an irritated manner, "I'm leaving. I would say it was nice to meet you, but it fucking wasn't. And don't even think of following me, because if you do, I will fucking kick your ass all the way to fucking hell. Got it?"

Orochimaru chucked _again_ and said, "We'll be seeing you."

I snorted and walked away quickly. I was fucking pissed off. As soon as I was in the cover of the tall trees that surrounded the lake, I turned into a falcon again and shot into the air. So much for my break.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, why are you letting her go?" The man with glasses asked the pale snake man.

"We'll find her again, Kabuto-kun, we'll find her." Orochimaru smirked as he turned towards Sasuke, "I noticed you were quite interested in her, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru emotionlessly, "Hn."

"I saw that glint in your eyes, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru egged Sasuke on as his twisted smirk grew into a wide smile.

"I was simply wondering what clan would hold such ability as hers." Sasuke answered.

Orochimaru chuckled, "We'll make a point of finding her again…"

* * *

I loved flying as a Peregrine falcon. It was the fastest bird alive. It could reach speeds of over three hundred twenty kilometers an hour in a single stoop. I had flown for a few more hours after my little meeting with the pedophile, the pedophile's Uchiha bitch, and his other silent glasses wearing bitch. It was dark now and I was still flying. I didn't want to take the chance that I could possibly run into Orochimaru again. Holy fuck, that guy was the epitome of creepy. I was getting tired though. I saw a small clearing a few hundred feet ahead of me and swooped down towards it. I landed on the branch of a tall tree, changing back into a human. I stood and stretched, my back cracking and other joints popping. I couldn't remember the last time I was in another form that long.

I leaped out of the tree and onto the surprisingly soft mossy forest floor. I took my backpack off (it shifted with me when I shifted into a bird. I was even surprised. I didn't know I could do that) and threw it to the ground beside me. I needed to make a fire first. Then I had to go hunting for some kind of food… I hoped there were some rabbits hiding around here.

I sighed and walked over to a tree nearest to me. I walked up the tree and punched some smaller branches, making them crack and fall to the forest floor. There was no way in hell that I was going to spend time looking for smaller sticks. I jumped out of the tree and dragged the branches over to the center of the clearing. I arranged the braches into a pile with a huff and walked into the forest. Catching some sort of animal to eat should be easy. I heard my stomach growl and I frowned at the noise. I shifted into a wolf and crouched under a cluster of bushes, waiting for any possible prey to scurry by. I sat there waiting for a long time. I was bored as hell and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. The only thing that kept me awake was the constant rumbling in my belly. I wondered if all the noise my stomach was making was scaring away all of the animals in the surrounding area.

I sat waiting for a few more moments. I was getting impatient. Then I heard a rustling in the bushes in front of me, to my far left. My wolf ears perked towards the sound and my wolf body tensed, ready to pounce. I darted out from under the brush and into the bushes where the noise was coming from. My jaws opened and closed around a small brown rabbit, immediately snapping its neck. I internally cheered. I had caught what I wanted to eat for supper. I spit it out of my mouth and turned back into a human, picking up the dead animal and walking back towards the clearing where I had left the pile of tree branches.

When I got to the clearing, I dropped the dead rabbit near the pile of wood and did a few quick hand signs, blowing fire out of my mouth and onto the branches. The wood immediately lit up, making the area around me warm and light. I took the rabbit and skinned it, cutting the meat off the bones and sticking it onto a long, pointed branch. I stuck the meat over the fire and watched it as it cooked. I could practically feel my mouth water as the faint smell of cooked rabbit wafted through the air. I waited impatiently for a few minutes for the rabbit to fully cook. When I couldn't wait anymore, I ripped the meat off the pointy stick and bit into it ravenously. I didn't care if the rabbit wasn't fully cooked, I was fucking hungry. I quickly ate the food and sighed when I was done. My stomach had finally stopped rumbling.

I plopped down by the fire and stared up at the stars above me. The wind was gently blowing, gently caressing my body with its cooling breeze. I wondered what my mission would be and how long it would take. I personally loved being outside and away from the Akatsuki and their damn hideout and all of their fucking annoying members. It was refreshing and all of the flying I did today to get to my current location was exhilarating. The fire was gone and there were only a few glowing embers left. I shifted so I was more comfortable on the soft moss. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

I was rudely awoken to the unpleasant feeling of being lightly stabbed with a dull knife. I cracked open my eyes and glared at the bird that was resting on my hip, continuously pecking at said body part. I lifted my hand and smacked it away. The bird let out an annoyed squawk and I growled at it. What a stupid fucking way to wake up in the morning. I rolled onto my back and squinted at the sky. It was bright and the sun seemed to be in the center of the great blue expanse above me. I lied on the comfortable moss for a few seconds until I realized that I was supposed to meet Itachi and Kisame and that I would probably be late if I didn't get my ass moving.

I jumped up and quickly grabbed my backpack, throwing it over my shoulders. I glanced over the makeshift campsite, making sure that I didn't leave anything behind, and jumped into the trees, running towards Kumo. I didn't care that I didn't clean up the remnants of the fire last night or erase the evidence that someone was there. If I was late, there would be hell to pay. Probably in the form of genjutsu. I jumped out of the trees and once again transformed into a falcon, taking to the skies and speeding towards my destination.

* * *

I was circling the border of Kumogakure, where I had assumed I was to meet Itachi and Kisame. Either they were hiding very well, or they weren't there yet. I drifted down towards the ground and landed on a tree branch, becoming a human once again. I stood up and my eyes drifted around. Seeing nothing, I sat down on the branch and rested my head against the thick trunk. I briefly closed my eyes and let my mind wander. I had no idea how much time had passed by when I felt a small flicker of chakra. My eyes shot open and I glanced around. I saw nothing, but I knew something was there. I jumped onto the ground and pulled out a kunai, prepared for a fight. I heard chuckling behind me and I threw a barrage of six of my kunai at where I last heard the noise.

"Good job kid, you're becoming more attentive." Kisame praised as he walked out from the trees with Itachi beside him. I let my eyes linger on Itachi for longer than I should have, taking in his good looks and emotionless appearance. I hated to say it, but I missed having his apathetic self around.

I looked back and Kisame and raised my left eyebrow at the blue man, "Kiddo? What the fuck is that?"

"You're my subordinate, it's appropriate that I call you a kid." Kisame explained, smirking.

My right eyebrow rose as well, joining my other eyebrow, "Don't call me 'kid' or 'kiddo' or any form of that. It's annoying."

Kisame chuckled and changed the subject, "So, were you briefed on the mission?"

"No, Konan-san said you'd tell me what we're doing." I said.

"We are to assassinate one of our subordinates that has been leaking top secret Akatsuki information to Kumogakure. We have heard that he is being protected by Kumo's top ANBU. We are to kill the ex-Akatsuki subordinate, the ANBU protecting him, and anyone else who he could have been in contact with and told Akatsuki information to. " Itachi calmly explained.

I nodded and asked, "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to rent a hotel room tonight and make a plan, and then we'll attack tomorrow." Itachi told me.

I nodded again and Kisame spoke, "Well, let's get going."

All three of us jumped into the trees

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**Reviews are always appreciated. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter sixteen! After what has felt like over a billion years, I finally finished it! Thank you all of reading, review, favouriting, and alerting. It means a lot to me! My job, school, and all of the extra-curricular activities are making me super busy, so I won't be able to update very often (and if I do, the chapters might not be that long, but I'll try)! I'm sorry for the epic delay for this chapter. To make it up to you, I made it super long! :D Please enjoy and review if you liked it! :] **

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I was standing in the shabby lobby of the dilapidated inn that Kisame and Itachi decided we would be staying in. The inn was in a 'shady' part of the Cloud Village and was poorly taken care of. The Uchiha and the shark man were talking in hushed tones by the front desk (they were waiting for someone who worked at the inn to come and assist them) while I wandered away from the two missing ninjas and inspected the lobby. I was more than just a little pissed off. It had taken us a lot longer than I expected to reach the Hidden Cloud Village. The day was already fading into dusk and I was tired and hungry as fuck. Not to mention I was more that just slightly annoyed at how Kisame or Itachi would not tell me about the mission until we got to the hotel. Fucking secretive pricks.

I glared at nothing, looking around the lobby and taking in the surroundings. The yellowed paint was peeling in places along the walls, revealing water stained wood behind the paint. There were cheap and poorly done oil paintings hung crookedly on the wall where the paint peeled badly. Two mismatched couches that each had a different, yet hideous, flower print on them were placed in the middle of the room. In between the two couches was a small coffee table with worn and dusty books sitting on it. I leaned lightly on the walls and picked at my nails. They were getting quite long. I needed to cut them.

"Hello, how may I help you?" I heard a man ask in a frail voice, accompanied by a dry, weak cough. I turned my head slightly to glance at the man behind the service desk. There was an old balding man with stringy remnants of white hair hanging in his face and wrinkles that sagged his flesh so much it was hard for him to open his eyes.

"Two rooms." Itachi said.

The man nodded and told Itachi the price. I watched as the man slowly turned around and grabbed two room keys. I rolled my eyes and I went back to picking at my nails, tuning out what the men at the desk were saying, already bored with what was going on. After a few more minutes, I got bored again, and walked up beside Itachi and Kisame.

"Have a nice night." The old man said, shooting me a gaped tooth smile. I glared at him and let out a quiet snarl. The man just chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and followed Itachi and Kisame up a short flight of stairs towards our rooms. The man had said two rooms, did that mean the two Akatsuki members would be sharing one and I'd get one to myself? I hoped so. Then not only would I get to sleep on a comfortable bed and have privacy, but I would have a small chance of escape. I doubted that Zetsu would still be watching/following/tracking/stalking me now that I was in the hands of two other Akatsuki members.

Itachi opened the door to the room and I followed him in, Kisame following behind me. I looked around the room with a raised eyebrow. There was one double bed in the centre of the room with two rickety wooden nightstands on either side of the bed and a plain tan couch by the window. There were only two dim bulbs that lit the room up. The walls were bare of décor and the paint was peeling. The carpet was obviously old and had stains (of what, I wasn't too sure, and I had no desire to know) and the ceiling was a sickly brown colour. I raised my eyebrow and let out a snort of disgust, "Wow."

Kisame turned to look at me, "What?"

"This room is shit. Why did we pick this place?" I asked.

"It's in a place not many know about. If we were being hunted, we have a lesser chance of being found." Kisame explained.

I snorted and said, "Point taken, but wouldn't whoever was fucking hunting us look in the most obvious places, places that people who don't want to be found would stay, such as this?"

"It's also the least expensive inn to stay at. We could sleep outside if this isn't good enough for you, princess." Kisame smirked at me.

"Princess?" I barked out a laugh, "What the fuck?"

Kisame rolled his eyes, "Stop being picky."

"I'm not being picky," I said with a grin, "I was merely pointing out the facts."

Kisame rolled my eyes and messed up my hair. I glared at him and growled. "You're such a kid." Kisame said, laughing under his breath.

"No I'm not! I'm fucking older than you!" I snapped angrily.

Kisame chuckled and propped his giant sword against the wall, turning to Itachi, "So, I guess this room is mine?"

The Uchiha nodded from his spot on the couch and Kisame smirked, taking off his cloak and throwing it on the bed. I raised my eyebrow "Your room? I thought it was going to be mine."

Kisame laughed out loud, "What gave you that idea, kid?"

I glared sharply at the shark man and said, "I though the two males would share a room and the one female here would get her own room."

"No. You're sharing with me." Itachi said.

I think my brain just turned to mush just a little bit. "Why the fuck am I sharing a room with you?" I snapped. Outwardly, I looked angry, but on the inside, I was losing my fucking mind. I was sharing a room with the sexiest man alive. I'm sure I was dreaming. Someone smack me.

"Because, Itachi-san is a light sleeper. If you try to escape, he will hear you and stop before you can escape. And I want some privacy because I'm going to go and have some _fun_ tonight, if you know what I mean." Kisame answered.

My eye twitched, "That was way too much fucking information. I didn't need to know that you're going to try and make some shark babies." I shuddered. Kisame shot me a toothy grin and I rolled my eyes. And what the fuck was with him calling me a kid? I was not a kid! I was waaaaaaaaaaaaay older than he was!

"So, Itachi-san, what's the plan?" Kisame asked, flopping onto the bed and leaning against the headboard. I also turned to look at Itachi with a raised eyebrow, my back leaning against the wall.

Itachi sat on the couch, his eyes closed in concentration, "I assume that the ANBU team assigned to watch over Aya will try and move him out of the city. Our best bet is to ambush them when they're leaving Kumo." Itachi said monotonously.

"Did they make any prior plans to leave?" The shark man asked.

"Not yet, but I assume they will move out either tomorrow or the day after. I planted a rumour that we were here. Nothing too serious, but the ANBU would want to get Aya out at any sign of a threat." Itachi said in his usual monotone voice, his eyes still closed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "What am I here for?"

Itachi opened his eyes and stared at me, "You are here to assist us."

"Obviously," I snapped, "But can't you two do this by yourself?"

Itachi blinked slowly. It felt like his gaze was ripping apart my insides. What a queer feeling. "It is always best to have more than two people for the amount of ANBU Aya has guarding him. We also need someone who is not in the bingo books and is virtually unknown in the ninja world to go undercover and find out who knows information about the Akatsuki and dispose of them." Itachi stated. I stood there, dumbstruck. Itachi sure knew how to make someone feel like a complete and utter idiot.

I shrugged and nodded, "Sounds good. So, what are we going to do once we find when this Aya guy is being moved out? And how are we going to find out who Aya told the Akatsuki information to?"

Itachi pondered for a moment before speaking, "You will go out and look for Aya. Talk to him and get him to tell you who he told."

I snorted, "That's a lot harder than it sounds."

"Well then kid, you better get started." Kisame laughed.

I shot him an annoyed glare, "Then please, elaborate on how and where I will find Aya when he is being so heavily guarded by ANBU."

"Aya likes his liquor and women. He'll probably be at a bar." Kisame said, smirking.

"So I basically have to go bar hopping to find this bastard?" I said, my upper lip lifting in disgust.

"Basically." Kisame said, shooting me a toothy grin.

"Ugh. What does he look like?" I asked.

Itachi pulled out a picture and flicked it at me. I walked forward and caught it before it hit the ground. I studied the man in the photo. He had deep blue eyes and chin length black hair. He was tanned and had sharp features. In the picture he was smirking like he had a secret no one else knew of. He was pretty attractive. I flipped the picture around to the back where I saw some scribbled information. Aya was six feet tall, was deathly allergic to cucumbers, and likes alcohol. I glanced up at Itachi, "So, what, I go into the bar and just ask him to confess? Won't he be surrounded by ANBU?"

Itachi stared at me, "You will use your shinobi skills to extract the information. There is a high possibility he will be in the company of ANBU, but knowing Aya, when he's drunk, he has no common sense and he likes to blab."

Great. I had an idea to where this was headed, "So, I'm supposed to seduce the information out of him?" I asked unhappily.

Itachi nodded while Kisame snickered from his spot on the bed. I glared at the snickering man and bared my teeth slightly.

"You should go and get some different clothes." Kisame smirked, "You don't look very seductive at the moment."

I smacked my hand to my forehead and muttered multiple curse words under my breath.

"You should find him tonight and see if you can extract any information." Itachi said.

I stared, deadpan, at the two Akatsuki members, "Fine. I'll get started right now." I stated as I threw my bag on the ground and walked out of the room and down the hallway, through the lobby and out the door of the inn.

I walked down the streets of Kumo, looking around for some sort of clothing store. I had to agree with the Akatsuki members, my ninja attire would not be appropriate to go to the bar in or get Aya to confess anything to me. I'd just have to steal some clothes, since I didn't have any money. I rolled my eyes. Stupid Akatsuki members. My mind went back to the mission at hand. I would have to seduce Aya. I shuddered. Gross. It wasn't that Aya wasn't good looking; it's just that I'm not a fan of acting like a whore. I had only been on a seduction mission once when I was still a member of the Hidden Leaf Village, but it was simple, all I had to do was get some woman (it was… uh… different…to act like I was gay… stupid Tsunade…) alone in a private place, get her to confess that she killed someone and then kill her myself. My mission was successful, but it was easy (and not to mention kind of awkward). Luckily, I was a good actress.

I walked past a store that had some flashy clothes displayed in the window. I raised my eyebrow and walked in. I looked around the shop, distracted my all of the brightly shining sequin dresses that were on display.

"Hello, my dear! What can I help you with today?" A plump middle aged woman said, coming out from behind the counter and smiling wildly at me.

"Hello, I need to find a dress." I greeted back, explaining what I needed in the most simple way possible.

"Excellent! What colour? Style? Size? What for?" The lady questioned me with a huge smile on her face.

So many questions. I had to force myself to remain polite. "There's a party later tonight and I put off buying a dress until the last minute…" I tailed off with a small smile.

The woman chuckled, "I know how it is! Now, what are you looking for?"

I stared blankly at her, "I don't usually wear dresses."

"Ah, then we shall have to rely on my excellent fashion sense!" She said with an extravagant wave of her hand. This woman had a flashy personality, much like the clothes she sold in her store.

I nodded slowly as the woman hurried over to some racks of clothing, "I assume you'd fit into a size two or a size three. The colour black, purple, or navy would go amazingly well with your hair colour! So would a really deep green, as long as it didn't clash too much with your hair. Oh, and we must have you have something short and sexy with some strappy heels. A halter dress would show off your cleavage and lovely shoulders quite well and a push up bra will do you wonders! Darlin', I'll make you look fabulous!" The lady gushed.

My head was spinning with what she said. I hardly caught any of what the lady was telling me, not did I understand it. Suddenly a pile of dresses were in my arms. "Uh…" I started to say, but I was cut off by the loud lady.

"Go on to the dressing rooms honey, I'll be right outside if you need any help!" She said, pushing me over to a room with a bright pink curtain to shield what was behind it.

I sighed and looked at the dresses she handed me. One was a strapless deep green dress that probably wouldn't cover my ass. I immediately put that in the 'no' pile. The next dress was a blindingly bright purple dress with lots of fake diamonds sewn on and lots of sequins. That dress also went in the 'no' pile. There were many other dresses in the shade of purple, but I didn't offer the purple fabric a second glance. There was a single blue dress that I liked, but when I tried it on, I realized that it had no back to it and the front went down to my belly button and barely covered my boobs. That dress was a huge no. The last one was a simple black dress with, what I assumed, was a halter top. I shrugged; this dress was the one that looked the best out of the entire pile. I stripped out of my clothes and put the black dress on, slipping the straps over my head. The dress ended mid-thigh and my upper back was exposed. The dress had a built in push up bra, making my small bust look twice as big. It wasn't that bad.

I pushed aside the pink curtain shielding me from the rest of the store and walked out, my bare feet making a light noise on the cool tan tiles. The woman who was behind the counter again looked up, a bright smile on her face, "Sweetie, you look stunning!"

"Heh… thanks…" I said awkwardly.

"Here are your shoes!" She cried happily, tossing a pair of high heeled strappy shoes at me.

I caught them and put them on. They were two inch high black heels, with silky black straps that wrapped around my calf, stopping just under my knee. "Thanks." I said.

"You look fabulous!" She said with a giggle. She hurried towards me, grabbing my hand and leading me to the back of the store, where she sat me on a chair. "Now, time for some make-up!" I blinked, but before I could react, she swept back my hair from my face and puckered her lips in disgust, "Honey, we need to fix that scar up."

I sat in the chair for what felt like hours, while the woman flitted around me like a humming bird, applying makeup to my face and tugging on my hair. With a final swoop of her hand, the woman sprayed a bunch of hair spray into my hair, making me cough. "There!" She beamed, "All done! Oh, you look so gorgeous!" She said as she held up a mirror to my face.

I blinked in surprise. The lady had completely covered my scar with makeup, making it invisible. There was a bright red lipstick on my lips and deep purple eye shadow that accentuated my eyes quite nicely. Mascara lengthened my eyelashes and made my eyes seem more open and wider. My hair was done up in a messy bun, with my bangs and some tendrils of my hair framing my face nicely. "Wow…" I breathed. I actually looked… attractive.

The lady giggled, "Now the boys won't be able to resist you!"

"Thanks." I said, my eyes still wide.

"Now, I'll just go over to the cash register and ring up your total." The lady smiled at me.

I smiled back and jumped into action. I tackled her to the ground and did some quick hand signs, touching my pinkie and index finger to her forehead, effectively knocking her out and wiping her memory of the last thirty minutes, so that she wouldn't remember ever meeting me.

I stood up and smoothed my dress out. I grabbed my old clothes and stuffed them into a bag I found behind the counter. Then I moved the unconscious lady onto a stool behind the counter, so when she woke up, she would simply think she had fallen asleep. I walked out of the shop and jumped onto the rooftops, my high heeled shoes clacking against the tiled roof tops. I spotted the inn we were staying in and I jumped off the roof, grabbing onto the window sill to Kisame's room and vaulting into it.

As soon as I hit the ground, Kisame was already armed with his Samehada pointing it at my face in a threatening manner. "It's just me, fish face." I snapped.

Kisame put his sword down and raised his eyebrow, "Kid, what happened to you?"

I glared at him and rolled my eyes, "It's called makeup and new clothes, stupid. And I thought you were the one who said I needed to change my wardrobe in order to extract the information out of Aya?"

"I didn't think you'd actually take me seriously and do it."

I deadpanned, "I am your subordinate, no? Aren't I supposed to listen to you?"

Kisame chuckled, "Yeah, you are."

"Don't expect me to listen to you often though." I smirked.

"You better, or I'll just cut off your legs." Kisame shot back.

"Sure you will." I grinned, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Why'd you come back?" Kisame asked, changing the subject.

"I needed to drop off my clothes." I said, tossing my bag on the floor, "I'll be back later, don't wait up." I said, as I jumped out of the window.

* * *

After wandering around, I had finally found a few bar/clubs of some sort. At the moment, I was sitting on a bar stool in the last and final club. I hadn't seen any sign of Aya at all and it was already past three in the morning. I was getting tired, but there was no way in hell that I was going to go back to the hotel room so early.

"Hey." A male voice next to me said.

I turned my head to face them, "Hello." I replied coolly. The man who spoke had light brown hair and deep blue eyes. He was about six feet tall. He looked identical to Aya, minus the different hair colour.

The man grinned and took a seat on the bar stool next to me, "I'm Aya." Bingo. "What's your name?"

"I'm Makita." I said with a smile. What a shitty disguise. Oh well, it made finding him easier. My target was located. Now all I had to do was weasel out his plans.

"Would you mind if I bought you a drink?" Aya asked me with a wink.

"Not at all." I said, winking back.

Aya waved the bar tender over to where we were sitting, "One beer and a…"

"Another beer for me." I said with a grin.

"Coming right up." The bartender said.

"So, what's a pretty lady like you doing all alone?" Aya asked, leaning his arm on the counter and moving his body so it faced mine. I mirrored his actions.

"I just came in for a drink." I said, the grin still on my face, "And what's a handsome man like you doing here all by yourself?"

"I'm avoiding some people." Aya answered.

"Oh? An ex-girlfriend I should be worried about?" I teased lightly.

"Oh no…" He leaned over and whispered into my ear, "ANBU."

I let out a fake gasp, "ANBU! Are you some kind of criminal!" I asked in a low whisper.

"Nothing of the sort" He chuckled.

"Oh really? Then why are you avoiding them?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He laughed and edged closer to me, tucking some of my tendrils of hair behind my ear, "I'm a very important man…" He said. I could smell alcohol on his breath. Excellent. He was already drunk. That just meant less work for me. "I have lots of information regarding some criminals…"

"Oh? What kind of information?" I asked innocently.

"Who all the members are, their abilities, where some of their hideouts are… you know, the basics…" Aya said, smirking at me and downing his beer.

"What criminals?" I questioned.

"The… Akatsuki… you've heard of them, right?" The blue eyed man said, waving his hand to the bartender to bring him another beer.

"Yeah… have you told anyone what you know?" I asked, taking a small sip from my still full alcoholic beverage.

Aya nodded, "Yeah… just the Leader of the Cloud Village…"

"Did you tell anyone else?" I said, crossing my legs and leaning closer to him.

"Nope!" Aya said, downing his second beer and staring down at my chest. Tch. Typical male.

"So, what did you tell the Leader of the Cloud Village?"

"Just the basics that I knew. Who the Akatsuki was after, the members, and how they got their money. I was going to tell him about all of the Akatsuki's hideouts, but, you know, I wanted to make sure that I would be getting a little somethin' outta the deal," He winked, "If you know what I mean."

"Wow. That's intense." I commented lightly, leaning slightly away from him and propping my head on my hand.

"I know, right?" Aya said, motioning the bartender _again_ and getting a third beer. Wow. He drank a lot.

"So, how many ANBU are guarding you?" I asked, taking my index finger and lightly trailing it on his bare arm.

"I have fifteen guarding me." He answered, finishing his third beer.

I let out a low whistle, "That's a lot." I said, sounding impressed.

He nodded, "I know."

"Where are the ANBU?"

"I told them to leave me alone for a while… they're close by, just in case I'm attacked, but far away enough for me to have some alone time." Aya said with a drunken smirk.

"Nice…" I trailed off.

"Anyways," Aya said, "Where are you from?"

"From here." I smiled, "You?"

"I was originally from Iwa, but I move around a lot." He grinned, taking a hint from me drawing on his arm and doing the same to mine.

"Are you a ninja?" I asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah, a really powerful one too." He said back with a seductive smile. Ha. I bet he thought he'd get some tonight.

"That's amazing. I have a thing for ninjas." I said with a sexy wink. Well, what I thought was a sexy wink.

"That's a good thing then." He said with a returning wink, ordering his fourth beer.

"You drink a lot." I observed.

Aya hiccupped, "I know, but when I get nervous or I'm stressed, the alcohol calms me down."

I chuckled. This man was quite idiotic. "So, how long are you going to be in the Cloud Village?" I asked him.

"Just until tomorrow, around noon. I'm leaving with the ANBU to go into hiding." Aya said, ordering two more beers.

"Oh, that's interesting." I said.

"Hey, I wanna show you something." Aya said after he finished his sixth beer. Wow. Alcoholic much?

"What's that?" I asked. I was losing interest in this man now that I had got all of the information I needed out of him.

"Follow me." Aya said with a slow smile.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the bar stool. I raised my eyebrow and followed him, keeping up the act of being a stupid girl who was 'totally into him'. Aya led me over to a dark, secluded part of the bar. He pressed me against the wall and nuzzled my collarbone. Great. Just great. I really hope the sarcasm came through on those words.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making the most of my last night in the Cloud Village…" Aya mumbled huskily into my skin.

He trailed his mouth up the side of my neck and along my jaw, gently brushing his nose across my cheek. His fingers were drawing circles on my upper leg and he looked into my eyes before slamming his mouth hotly onto mine. I clenched my teeth together and glared. Aya's hands tangled in my hair and he pushed himself closer into my body. My arms hung limply at my sides, doing nothing. I was quite shocked. I didn't expect Aya to be so forward, but then again, he was drunk as fuck.

"What are you doing with my fiancée?"

Aya broke away from me and we both turned around to face a tall blonde man with brown eyes. What the fuck? "Your what?" Aya slurred.

"My fiancée. Why are you touching her?" The blonde man said, taking my arm gently and pulling me beside him.

I looked up at the brown-eyed man, about to tell him off in a very inappropriate way, but I saw a flash of the sharingan and kept my mouth shut. Aya said nothing. "Don't touch her again."

And with that, Itachi put his arm around my shoulders tightly and led me out of the bar. As soon as we were out of sight, Itachi asked, "Did you get all of the information?"

I nodded, "Yeah. You were right. He likes to talk when he's drunk."

"I know." Itachi said quietly.

"How'd you know where I was?"

Itachi was silent.

"You were following me the entire time, weren't you?"

Itachi nodded.

I let out a huff. "Doesn't anyone trust me?"

"Not yet." Itachi replied calmly.

"So, are we going back to the inn now?" I asked.

Itachi nodded so slightly I would have missed it if his arm still wasn't around me. I liked the feel of being so close to the Uchiha, even though he was in a genjutsu disguise. We walked towards the inn and before we entered, Itachi dispersed the genjutsu and removed his arm from around my shoulders. We walked into the inn, up the stairs, and into Kisame's hotel room. We entered Kisame's room to see the shark man lying on his bed, flipping through a very old and worn bingo book. Itachi immediately went to sit on the couch and I leaned casually against the wall.

"Hey kiddo!" Kisame greeted me with a deep laugh, "How'd it go?"

"Fine." I muttered with a glare. Kiddo. I resented that.

"Did you get all of the info?" Kisame smirked.

"Yeah." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, what did he say?" Kisame asked, sitting my on the edge of the bed and leaning forward, interested in what I was going to say.

"He said that he only told the leader of the Cloud Village the information about Akatsuki, which makes it easier for us. He said he told about whom the Akatsuki is after, the members, and how Akatsuki gets their money. He also said he has fifteen ANBU guarding him and that they are leaving tomorrow, around noon, to go into hiding." I said, picking at my nails, "The end."

"Good job, kid! You did better than we thought you would." Kisame congratulated me.

"Well, it helped that we was quite drunk and that he had somehow avoided and convinced all of his ANBU protectors to keep away from him and what not." I said with a slight frown. It seemed all too easy.

Kisame smirked, "Aya was always a lightweight, but he always kept slamming his alcohol back," Kisame laughed, "It was always funny to watch him."

I rolled my eyes, "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"We shall set up an ambush along the Southern border of Kumo and attack when they go by us." Itachi said.

"Short and simple." I grinned, "I like it."

"Great, now you two get out of my room." Kisame said.

"Going to have some fun?" I laughed out the question.

"Oh, you'd like you to know, wouldn't you?" Kisame said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, disgusted, and followed Itachi out of Kisame's room and into the room we would be sharing for the night. When we got into the room, Itachi immediately when into the bathroom. I assumed he was going to take a shower. My eyes gazed around the room, taking in my new surroundings. The room was almost identical to Kisame's room. The carpet had stains in it, the wallpaper was peeling, the ceiling was a dirty brown colour, and there was only one double bed and a couch in the room.

My backpack and my bag of clothes that I had left in Kisame's room were on the bed. The only bed in the room. I bit my lip. I didn't want to share a bed with Itachi. Mainly because it would be awkward, but I would also want to molest him in his sleep. And that would make things even more awkward. I sat down on the bed and took of my shoes. I took my hair out of its messy bun flopped down on the bed, my arms behind my head.

I heard the shower shut off and the sound of a shower curtain being pulled open. I couldn't wait to take a shower. I really wanted to get the mascara off of my eyelashes. I heard the bathroom door open and I glanced at the door, only to see The Itachi Uchiha wearing only a pair of low rise black pants. His long raven hair was still damp and it clung to his broad shoulders. Water slid down his well-defined torso slowly. Itachi was very lean, but his muscles were very well defined. There wasn't a scar anywhere on his body. I unconsciously noticed that my jaw had dropped open and I was ogling Itachi and his half nakedness with my mouth practically on the floor, but I didn't care. An incredibly sexy man was right in front of me. And he was topless. Topless! I wanted to tackle him and ravage his body at the moment. My brain was slowly turning to mush. He was just so attractive. I could feel my eyes trailing all over his body, taking in his sexiness. Itachi looked up at me and smirked. His smirk was so slight, if I hadn't spent so much time with him, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Seeing that small hint of emotion on the Uchiha's normally stoic face made my insides melt. Itachi Uchiha was the closest thing to pure perfection that I have ever seen.

"What are you looking at?" Itachi asked, the ghost of a smirk still in place on his face.

You and your obvious sexiness. "Nothing." I answered, "Are you done in the bathroom?"

Itachi nodded and I hurriedly walked past him into the bathroom. I shut the door tightly behind me and let out a huge breath I didn't know I was holding. I looked up and caught a glimpse of my reflection. My face was as red as my hair. I made a disgusted face at myself. I shouldn't let myself get so flustered because of a man. _An incredibly sexy man_.

I shook my head, stripped out of my clothes hurriedly, and jumped into the shower, the freezing water blasting me clean. I grabbed the hotel shampoo and vigorously scrubbed my hair. I washed away all of the makeup from my face and scrubbed my body clean. I worked in some conditioner and then rinsed my hair. I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. I dried myself off and went to grab my clothes, but I stopped dead. In my rush to get into the bathroom, I had forgotten my change of clothes on the bed. I rolled my eyes and took in a deep breath. This would not be a problem. It's not like Itachi's going to see anything. I took another deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

The first thing I saw was Itachi sitting on the bed, right next to my backpack. He looked up at me as I walked out of the bathroom and froze. He didn't even blink as he stared at me. I raised my eyebrow and walked towards him, picking up my backpack, and slinging the bag over my shoulder. "What?" I asked.

"Hn." He grunted. His face and voice gave away nothing.

I rolled my eyes and walked back into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. Well, that was slightly less awkward than I thought it would be.

I quickly put on my change of clothes and brushed my hair into its usual style before walking out of the bathroom. Itachi was in the exact same position as before. I threw my bag on the floor by the couch and turned to look at the Uchiha. "So, I'll take the couch tonight, okay?"

Itachi nodded and went to flick off the lights. I grabbed the top blanket from the bed and curled up on the lumpy couch. I was asleep in an instant.

* * *

I had been awake for quite some time now, listening to the quiet, even breathing of the Uchiha sleeping in the bed a few feet away from me. I was going to try and sneak out to freedom. I was just waiting for the opportune time. I didn't want Itachi to wake up and catch me. I'd be in for some hard core genjutsu hell if I was caught. Being around Itachi was just unhealthy. Yeah, he was gorgeous, and I'm quite fond of the 'strong, silent' type, but this was just ridiculous. I needed to be away from him. Far, far, _far_ away from him. Some place so far away, I won't be tempted to do things I will regret to him. Being with the Akatsuki was making me go insane. No one in their right mind would be attracted to the fucking homicidal and obviously unstable Itachi Uchiha. I needed to get back to Konoha. Everyone there was probably worried sick about me. I didn't want them to worry. And I wanted to get away from Hidan and all of the other fucking insane people in the Akatsuki. Like Itachi. And especially that goddamn Tobi. But mostly Itachi.

I took a deep breath. I'd been waiting long enough already. I needed to get out now, before I chickened out and didn't leave. I got up quietly from my spot on the couch and grabbed my backpack. I stealthily made my way to the door. I took a silent breath and turned the door knob.

"What are you doing?"

I almost jumped a mile high. I turned around to see Itachi leaning against the wall casually, his arms crossed over his chest, and his hair cascading down his shoulders. His sharingan was activated and he was staring at me emotionlessly. I studied his face. Nothing. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. I think that his lack of emotions was a billion times more intense and scary than if he showed anger or any other type of emotion. And for some fucked up reason, I liked it. What the fucking hell was wrong with me? My eyes travelled down his body. He was still topless. I had to force my mind to focus on the situation at hand.

"… Going for a walk…" I said slowly.

"With your bag?" Itachi questioned, one delicate brow raised.

I nodded.

"Makita, you know if you run away from Akatsuki, we won't stop looking for you until we find you and kill you, right?" Itachi stated.

I nodded again. I hadn't actually taken that into account.

"And when we find you, we'll probably kill not only you, but also whoever was helping to hide you."

I nodded for the third time. I hadn't taken that into account either.

"And the Akatsuki would probably destroy the village you were living in as well." Itachi said softly.

I sighed and kneaded the bridge of my nose. I hadn't even started to consider the consequences of running away from Akatsuki. I let out an angry huff and threw my bag on the floor. "This is bullshit." I hissed under my breath as I stalked angrily back to the couch.

Before I could make it back to the couch, Itachi grabbed my wrist. "I don't trust you."

I snorted, "I don't trust you very much either."

"Don't try to escape again." Itachi ordered in a whisper.

I let out a bitter laugh, "No promises."

"Makita…" Itachi said. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned my head towards Itachi. Whoa. I really liked the way my name rolled off of his tongue and how he didn't use any honorifics at the end.

"What?" I sighed, looking into the Uchiha's eyes.

"Please." Itachi whispered softly, letting go of my wrist.

My head was swimming. Itachi's sharingan was swirling slowly and it was hard to focus on anything else. Itachi was just so amazing. I stared at the Uchiha for what felt like an eternity. I bit my lip and I ripped my eyes away from his. I quickly glanced back at his face, taking in its perfection. I took a deep breath and then took a step towards him, pushing my lips lightly onto his. My mouth felt as if it was on fire. Heat rushed through my entire body, sending pleasant tingles everywhere. Itachi's lips were soft and warm and nothing like I expected them to be. The feeling of our lips together made me want to melt. I could have stayed like this for a long time. My lips lingered on his for a few moments until I realized what I was doing. I jerked away from him like I had been burned. What the fuck did I just do!

I growled angrily at myself and I stalked towards the door. I needed to get out of here. Before I could take more than three steps, Itachi had circled his hand around my wrist again, preventing me from moving. I whirled around and snapped out, "What!"

"Did what I just say not affect you at all?" Itachi asked.

I blinked, "What?" So Itachi was going to pretend I never… k-… kissed him? Well, that works for me. It never happened.

"I hope you're still not going to run away from Akatsuki." Itachi said.

"I'm not." I hissed.

Itachi nodded and I shook off his hand, stalking back to the couch. I clenched my fists so hard that my nails bit into my skin. I could feel blood seeping through the small cuts my nails made, but I liked it. The pain just fuelled my anger. I was pissed at myself. I needed to get some self-control. I pumped chakra into my fist and slammed it into the couch. I heard the wood crack and splinter into a thousand pieces. Oh. Great. I broke the couch. I was raging.

I grabbed the blanket that was on the now broken couch and lay down on the floor and began smacking my head repeatedly into the dirty, stained carpet. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why the fuck was I so fucking stupid? Kissing an S-rank missing nin was one thing someone like me should never EVER do. Fuck! Why was I so stupid? Itachi had fucked up my mind completely.

"Stop it." Itachi said, grabbing my hair before I could slam my face back into the floor.

I sat up and glared, "Why?"

"Hn."

I rolled my eyes and snarled, "Whatever."

I went to lie down on the floor again, but Itachi looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "You're sleeping in the bed with me." Itachi stated.

"No." I snapped.

"Would you rather go share a bed with Kisame?" Itachi asked, his red sharingan eyes boring into my bright yellow ones.

"Fuck no." I hissed.

"Then you'll share the bed with me." He said simply.

"I'd rather sleep on the floor." I glared.

Itachi paused, he seemed to be amused, and he said, "You really want to sleep on the floor?"

"Yes." I said.

"With all of the stains?"

"Yes." I said again.

"With all of the bugs?"

"I actually don't mind bugs at all." I said.

"With all of the human body fluids?"

"I really don't mind blood." I snapped.

Itachi blinked, "I wasn't talking about blood."

I cringed inwardly. There probably was blood on the floor, but I was certain the Uchiha was talking about some… other… white… body fluid. I shuddered. "Fine." I muttered, defeated.

The sharingan user pulled me over to the bed. I would much rather share a bed with Itachi instead of the fish man… or the semen covered floor (hell, we were in a shitty inn. I didn't want to take the chance that there would be male baby making juice on the ground…). I rolled my eyes and slipped under the covers, Itachi doing the same. I rolled over so I was the farthest away from the Uchiha and so I wasn't facing him. I wasn't pleased with this arrangement. At all. This was not helping my 'get away from Akatsuki and stop thinking about Itachi Uchiha' plan. I really needed to get away now. Especially since that incident when our lips met. Luckily for me, it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. At least we can both pretend it never happened.

* * *

The sunshine was blindingly bright. It was practically roasting my eyes through my eyelids. I winced and buried my face into something that was definitely not a pillow. I opened my eyes to see Itachi staring at me. I blinked. "What the fuck are you staring at?" I snapped.

"Hn." Itachi muttered, glancing at the ceiling.

He was lying on his back with me snuggled up to his side. One of my legs was wrapped around one of Itachi's and my head was resting on his muscular chest. Itachi's hand rested on my arm. His raven hair tickled my nose. I'm not going to lie; I could have lain there, staring at Itachi, for a very long time, but common sense kicked in and I shifted away from him, uncomfortable.

"How long have you been up for?" I asked.

"… A while…" Itachi said.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked.

"I tried. You wouldn't wake up." Itachi said monotonously.

I snorted. "What time is it?" I questioned the Uchiha.

"Ten am." He answered.

I sighed and rolled away from Itachi, getting out of bed and stretching. "We should get going. Where's Kisame?"

"He's getting some extra supplies." Itachi answered simply.

I yawned and nodded, "So, we're just going to ambush our target?"

"Yes. We'll have you circling the area in the air. As soon as you see them, come and warn Kisame and me." Itachi instructed.

"So I'm shape shifting into a bird?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes." Was Itachi's simple reply.

I shrugged, "Sounds simple enough."

Itachi also got up from the bed and went into the bathroom. I put on my black travelling cloak on over the clothes I slept in (they were the only extra set of clothes I brought) and pulled on my ninja sandals. Itachi walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed as well. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," Itachi muttered, "We'll meet Kisame outside the gates of the village."

And with that, Itachi and I left the inn by jumping out the window.

* * *

I was circling high above the Southern border of Kumo. It was almost noon and I hadn't seen any sign of Aya or the ANBU. I stretched my eagle wings and went into another wide arc, searching the ground below me. Suddenly, I saw a flash of movement in the distance. I lowered myself slightly closer to the Earth below me. I grinned internally. It was Aya and his entourage of fifteen ANBU. I laughed internally. Aya did like to blab when he was drunk. But for some reason, I was very uneasy. This was happening too quickly. And much too easily. Why weren't the Akatsuki worried about this mission?

I swooped down and landed where Kisame said that he and Itachi would wait for me. I poofed into my normal form as soon as I hit the ground of the clearing. I landed in a crouch and slowly stood up. A kunai came out of nowhere and almost embedded itself in my skull. It missed the side of my face by mere millimeters. The two Akatsuki members walked out and Itachi smiled at me.

"Makita-chan. You saw them?" Itachi called out.

I froze. There was no way in hell that Itachi would refer to me with such an honorific. Or be the first to greet me. Or smile. Ever. I glared at the two men and shut my eyes, focusing on all of the genjutsu training I had done with Itachi. When I reopened my eyes, I saw that I was surrounded by Aya and fifteen ANBU officers. "Hello." I said coolly.

Aya chuckled, "Hello there, sweetie."

"Sweetie? You don't know me that well, you dumb fuck." I snapped.

Aya chuckled, "So, you're the newest Akatsuki subordinate, huh? You don't look like much. Although you're a pretty good kisser." He said with a wink.

"Ew." Was all I said.

"Makita Amaterasu, you are under arrest for the involvement and association with the Akatsuki organization. You will come quietly with us, or we will have to use force." One of the ANBU to the left of me said.

"Alright." I nodded. "Just one question."

Aya waved his hand, which is what I assumed meant for me to continue, "How the fucking hell did you know I was with Akatsuki?"

"You were a hot topic of conversation for a while with the other subordinates. It's not every day that an Akatsuki member gets their own personal subordinate, let alone a female one." Aya smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "How the fuck do you even remember anything after all of the alcohol you consumed last night? And how the hell are you not hung-over?"

"One of the ANBU officers picked my memories when I got back to the hotel last night and I took some herbs to cure the hangover." Aya explained with a smirk.

"You will come with us quietly or suffer the consequences." The same ANBU who spoke earlier said.

Well. I was fucked. "I can't come with you. I have prior engagements to attend." I said. There was no way in fucking hell I was going to go with this bastard and his stupid protectors.

"Like what?" Aya snorted.

"Kicking your fucking asses." I said, jumping into the air and throwing a barrage of kunai knives on the group of sixteen below me while sending out a pulse of my chakra to alert the two Akatsuki members to my location.

I shifted into a bird and shot into the sky, avoiding the kunai, shuriken, and other weapons that were being thrown at me in an attempt to maim me. I shot towards the ground and turned into a large tiger before I hit the forest floor, lashing out my razor sharp claws at the multiple ANBU members around me. I shifted back into my normal form and grabbed the ANBU to my right, slitting his throat before he had a chance to do anything. One down, fifteen more to go. Wow. All of the training with Itachi was really paying off. I was surprised.

Suddenly, I was kicked in the back from behind. I was sent flying through the air until I hit a tree, face first. I felt my nose crack painfully and hot blood drip down my face. My nose was definitely broken. Fuck. I had been getting cocky and I had spoken too soon. I clenched my teeth in pain and pushed myself up, immediately dodging weapons that came from all angles. I jumped and kicked another ANBU in the shoulder. I heard the bone break as he cried out in agony. I turned around and punched another ANBU in the face, cracking his delicate porcelain mask and I watched the shards of broken mask dig into his skin and cut open his flesh. Blood seeped out of his facial wounds and he let out a pain-filled scream. I jumped and flipped over the man, grabbing his neck from behind and breaking it, instantly killing him. I received a kunai to my right thigh. I let out a shocked gasp of pain and fell down, having to roll over to avoid more kunai from embedding themselves in my body. I got up, but was immediately kicked back down; Aya shoved his knee into my stomach and two ANBU members drove two kunai knives through the palms of my hands and into the ground. I shut my eyes in pain and hissed. I refused to scream and give these bastards any form of satisfaction.

Aya laughed, "Will you come quietly now?"

I coughed, blood coming out of my mouth, "Fuck you."

Aya punched me in the face. I felt my jaw crack and I groaned in pain. "How about now?"

I let out a pain filled moan in response. I couldn't speak. It hurt too much. Oh, fuck me ever so gently! I was so dead. I really hoped the lazy ass Akatsuki members hurry their asses up and help me; otherwise, I was going to die. I knew it, the ANBU knew it, and Aya knew it. Sure, I was keeping up quite well, (until now) but there was no way in hell that I could win against fifteen ANBU. I just wasn't strong enough yet.

"Answer me." Aya said sweetly, smiling at me.

I roared in anger, shifting my hands so I could unpin them from the kunai knives that were pinning me down. I punched Aya in the face and shifted into a tiny sparrow; ignoring the pain I felt and flew quickly upwards, trying to form a quick plan to win against the ANBU below me. I landed in a tree that was far away from the clearing where the ANBU were and I took a deep breath. I felt movement beside me and I whipped my head around to see Itachi and Kisame beside me.

"It took you fucking long enough." I growled.

"You look like shit, kiddo." Kisame grinned.

"Fuck you." I snarled as I wiped the blood off my face. I winced. My nose hurt like a fucking bitch.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Kisame chuckled.

"No shit! I just got my fucking ass kicked! You could have hurried your fucking asses up!" I hissed in anger.

"What's the situation?" Itachi asked.

"I killed two ANBU already. There are thirteen plus Aya left." I explained.

Itachi nodded, "Good. Let's attack. Kisame, you know the plan."\

"Plan? What plan?" I asked, but Kisame and Itachi were already gone. I could hear them fighting in the clearing a few feet away.

"Stupid fuckers…" I muttered as I jumped down from the tree and ran towards the fight.

A large shuriken came hurling towards me out of nowhere and I ducked, the blades taking off a bit of my hair. The weapon embedded itself in a tree and I tugged the gigantic shuriken out of the wood. I looked at it and smiled. This would come in handy. Not only was it deadly, but it looked pretty kick ass too. I ran the rest of the way to the clearing and was immediately bombarded with an array of sharp weapons. I jumped and dodged out of the way of most of the weapons, but a few of the sharp tools nicked tiny cuts in my flesh.

I looked and saw that both Itachi and Kisame were fighting extremely well. There were only about six ANBU left. There was blood and body parts strewn everywhere. It was a gruesome scene. Out of nowhere, I received a blow to the back of my head, causing me to fall forwards and land flat on my stomach. I groaned and quickly rolled over, seeing Aya's fist coming towards my face. I lifted my leg up and kicked Aya in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. I got up and rushed towards him, throwing the large shuriken at him and watching the shuriken embed itself in Aya's arm. Aya growled and pulled the shuriken out, tossing it to the side.

Aya jumped to his feet and ran at me, tackling me to the ground. We rolled around, throwing punches at each other. I shifted my hands into claws and scratched Aya's face. He cried out in pain and I kicked him off of me. I rolled away and jumped to my feet. Before I could gain my bearings, Aya was in front of me, throwing more punches. We fought for what seemed like forever. I was landing more hits and I was doing better than the stupid asshole was, but he just wouldn't give up. We had been moving away from the clearing where the ANBU and the two Akatsuki members were. We were so far away; we had our own clearing to fight in. I couldn't believe that I fell for that stupid fucking genjutsu! I defiantly needed more training. I mean, fuck, I was an idiot.

I must have been distracted, because Aya landed a direct punch to my face. I flew backwards, skidding on the ground.

"Ready to give up yet?" Aya asked, panting.

"I could ask you the same question." I said with a grin, "I'm the better fighter here."

"Screw you!" Aya growled.

I threw my head back and laughed, "Don't be jealous!"

"Why would I be jealous of some Akatsuki whore!" Aya screamed at me.

I stopped laughing and glared darkly at Aya, "Excuse me?" I snarled out.

"You heard me. You're a whore. For the Akatsuki. Why else would they have a female subordinate?" Aya spat at me.

I was pissed. No one, and I meant _no one_,ever called me a whore and got away with it. Especially this bastard in front of me. There was no real reason for me to be angry I guess, although my pride was damaged. I could be the mature one and just kill in a humane way, but I was never able to do that. I was just too hot headed. My rage flared and I snarled inhumanly. There was anger written clearly on my face. I'm sure I looked scary. I lunged, demonic claws ripping out of my flesh and imbedding themselves into the soft tissues of my enemy. I faintly heard a scream of pain, of terror, from Aya, but I didn't care. I ripped my claws out of his body and stuck the deadly claws back in. I did this multiple times until I felt satisfied that Aya had suffered enough. Blood was splattered on my arms, my cloak, and my face. I darted away from the victim of my rage and I hid on the highest branches on one of the taller trees. Aya fell to the mossy forest floor, blood bubbling out of his mouth and seeping out of his wounds. I crouched down and smiled. The blood of that stupid fucker dripped down my face. I darted out my tongue to capture the crimson liquid, but then grimaced when the metallic taste reached my taste buds. I spit the blood out of my mouth, disgusted. What the fuck? Why did I just do that? I shuddered. I was turning into the female version of Hidan, only I was much more skilled, hotter, and overall, just a much better ninja than that religious bastard was.

I felt the branch I was sitting slightly dip and I turned around quickly, my fingers shifting into claws once again. "Chill kiddo." It was Kisame.

I glared at him and snapped, "I'm older than you."

Kisame smirked and ruffled my hair. I swatted his hand away, annoyed, "Whatever. You still look a lot younger than me, kid."

I rolled my eyes and stood up; jumping out of the tree, air whistling around me. I landed with a stumble on the mossy ground below. I winced as I hit the ground. My entire body was sore and my right leg was still smarting from that damn kunai wound. I noticed the giant shuriken that I had dropped and picked it up. I liked this weapon. I looked up at the tall tree branch Kisame was still standing on, about one hundred feet above me. "You coming, Sharky?" I called.

I heard Kisame snort and a few seconds later; he was standing beside me, "Where is Itachi-san?" I asked.

"He was just finishing up the rest of the Cloud ANBU." Kisame replied simply.

"I see." I said, nodding.

"Good job with Aya. He deserved it." Kisame said, giving me a toothy grin and nodding towards the slowly dying man I had fatally injured a few moments ago.

"Thanks." I grinned. I looked Kisame over. He had no injuries. At least, none that I could see. I huffed internally. Why the hell didn't he get hurt? I scowled at him. Stupid shark.

"What?" Kisame asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Nothing." I hissed angrily. Stupid blue man, making me look weak. I grumbled under my breath as Kisame and I began walking to where he had last seen Itachi.

"Where'd you get that?" Kisame asked me, referring to the large weapon in my hand.

I shrugged, "I picked it up back where the ANBU were. I thought it looked cool."

"It's a Fūma Shuriken. It suits you." Kisame said, giving me a sharky grin.

"Thanks." I said, "So, what are we doing now that the mission has been completed?"

Kisame glanced at me and snorted, "We'll have to stop at a nearby village and get you cleaned up. You look horrible."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Thanks for telling me something I didn't already know."

I heard Kisame snicker and I rolled my eyes again. The shark man and I walked the rest of the way to the clearing in silence. Itachi stood in the middle of the open space, wiping blood off of a kunai knife and he glanced up when Kisame and I walked into the clearing. The bodies were all piled together. I wasn't sure why, but I was certain I would find out soon enough.

"So, Itachi-san, what's the plan?" Kisame asked.

"We'll go to one of the smaller villages near here, heal, and rest. Then Makita-san will go back to the main Akatsuki base and you and I will continue on." Itachi said to Kisame, doing a few quick hand signs and setting the bodies of the ANBU on fire.

I made a face at the smell that the burning bodies made, but making facial expressions hurt my broken nose. I winced at the pain. Itachi looked over to me and said, "Your nose is broken."

I glared and snapped out, "Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious."

Itachi motioned for me to come towards him and I obliged, stopping right in front of the Uchiha. Itachi gingerly lifted grasped my chin and lifted my head, inspecting my nose. "It's a clean break. Would you like me to put it back in place?"

I nodded. Fuck. This would be painful.

"This will hurt." He mumbled under his breath.

"I know." I said as I clenched my jaw shut and prepared for the pain.

Itachi kept a firm grip on my chin and gently grabbed my nose. "Take a deep breath." Itachi whispered.

"Mhm." I said as I sucked in a breath of air.

Itachi cracked my nose suddenly and put it back into place. "Motherfucker!" I shrieked out.

I heard Kisame laugh in the background and I turned to glare darkly at him. "Shut up, fish face."

I blinked a lot, trying to clear the tears of pain from my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Yeah." I muttered, "I'm fine."

Itachi nodded, satisfied with his work and said, "We'll get a medic to heal that in the next town over."

"Good." I muttered.

"We'll only be resting for two hours, three at the most. Then we shall travel together until tomorrow, then we will head our separate ways." Itachi explained.

Both Kisame and I nodded. "Let's go." Itachi said, jumping into the trees.

* * *

I yawned and leaned against a tree that was close to the fire, letting the heat caress my face gently. Itachi, Kisame, and I had stopped at a small village on the way out of Kumo to rest and stop at a tea shop. Well, Itachi and Kisame stopped at a tea shop while I went to find a medic to heal my nose and the rest of my injuries. The lady who healed me, an elderly woman who looked as if she should be dead already (yes, she looked THAT old), had gone on and on and on about why I should quit being a ninja like she did, and move to some remote village, like she did, and become a medic, like she did, and heal some wary travellers, just like she did. I've noticed that I have amazing self-control when it comes to killing the elderly.

So anyways, after the woman was finished healing me, I stayed for a twenty minute lecture on why I should quit being a ninja and focus my energy on something more 'nice'. After I left the crazy old woman, I went back to the tea shop where I left the two Akatsuki members. We had a quick discussion on the travel plans for the next few days. It was decided that I would travel with the Akatsuki duo until morning, then we would head our separate ways – me back to the Akatsuki base in Ame and them to do whatever mission they're supposed to do next. And now we're here, somewhere in the unclaimed land near Kumo.

"So, Kisame-san, what are you and Itachi-san doing after we spilt up?" I asked.

"That's classified information, kid. Only members get to know." Kisame said as he re-bandaged his sword.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." I had given up on getting Kisame to not refer to me as 'kid', 'kiddo', or any other type of childish nickname. It was pointless.

Kisame and I sat in silence. Itachi had gone for a walk a while ago, mumbling something about 'needing to clear his head'. Oh well. The farther away I was from him, the better. "What time are we leaving tomorrow?" I asked.

"The crack of dawn." Kisame said.

"Ugh. That's disgusting." I said, making a face.

Kisame sniggered when he saw my expression and said, "You need to learn to wake up."

I snorted, "I like my sleep. I hardly get any of it anyways."

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "You sleep more than Itachi-san and I combined."

I paused, "I need a lot of sleep, because otherwise, I become a monstrous bitch."

"You're already a monstrous bitch." Kisame chuckled.

I glared at the shark man, "Imagine my bitchiness twenty times worse."

Kisame chuckled harder, "I didn't think that was possible."

"Oh, it's possible." I said, lying down next to the tree, using my black travelling cloak as a pillow.

"How do you like Akatsuki so far, kid?" Kisame asked, leaning against the tree nearest to him.

I paused, thinking over what to say, "I'd rather not be here." I said.

Kisame looked at me, "That's not what I asked you."

I let out a huff of air, "I hate it. I'd rather be with the people I care about, instead of being stuck with a bunch of fucked up criminals…"

Kisame shot me a small glare when I said 'fucked up criminals', but then his glare turned into a sly grin, "You're a fucked up criminal now too, you know."

I glared at him, "No I'm not."

"You are. You just helped two criminals kill someone. You're living with the Akatsuki. You're not a part of your village. You are a criminal."

I clenched my fists together and snarled, "I am not a criminal."

The shark man rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say."

"I'm not." I spat vehemently.

"Forget I said anything about it. Just go to sleep." Kisame said, rolling over to his side.

I rolled my eyes and decided to listen to the blue skinned man for once, "Fine."

I was already really tired from all of the fighting and the healing and the travelling and arguing and worrying that I had done in the past few days. All I wanted to do was take a really long, hot shower and then sleep for a few days. I rolled over and snuggled into my cloak, falling asleep quickly.

* * *

I flew over the vast land below me, sleepily blinking my eyes and watching the blur of bright colours dance brilliantly under me. It was still early morning. I had been awoken with a rude blast of water that was spewed out of Kisame's mouth (which had drenched me until I was almost completely submerged in a large puddle of water, fully awake, and swearing my head off). It was not a pleasant way to wake up. And Kisame had lied. I was not up at the 'crack of dawn' like he said I would be. I was woken up way before the sun was even up. Even now, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. Hours had gone by already, I was sure. I let my gaze wander to the ground and noticed a welcoming stretch of water below. I smiled in my eagle form. It looked like it was the same lake that I had stopped to rest at on my way towards Kumo (where I had met that stupid Orochimaru fuck and his band of bitches).

Against my better judgment, I swooped down slowly and felt the cooling sensation of the water as my wings skimmed the surface of the glistening pool. I flew down to the sandy shore and transformed back into my normal form. I got up and stretched, cracking my back in the process. I let out a tired sigh. Right now would be a great time for a nap. Screw Akatsuki and their 'time limits' for missions and shit. If they really needed to find me, then they'll come and find me. I walked to the cover of trees and leaned against the one closest to me, shutting my eyes. Fuck, this was stupid. I swear to the fucking sun, I would get Kisame back for waking me up at such a hellish hour. I was going to kick his ass. Being up at this hour not only made me really pissy, but it made me want to piss off everyone else and kill things.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I heard a hiss from somewhere to my left.

I cracked open my eyes and lazily lolled my head to look over to where the voice had come from. I lifted my upper lip in contempt and let out a low growl when I saw who it was. Orochimaru. This was peachy. Just peachy keen. This was just what I needed right now to add to my sour mood. "What the fuck do you want?" I snarled out.

"Nothing my dear, I were just wondering what was causing you to pass through this area again in such a short amount of time." The snake grinned at me, "Have you finished your business already?"

"Yes." I said tersely, wanting the stupid annoying fucker to fuck off and die.

"Why are you finished so soon?" Orochimaru asked me, walking over and sitting next to me.

"Because I fucking finished it, that's fucking why!" I snapped, standing up and whirling around to face him, arms crossed angrily over my chest.

"I see you got a new weapon." He said, a sick gleam in his eye as he eyes up my new Fūma Shuriken that was attached at my hip.

"Thanks for fucking noticing." I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He hissed, suddenly behind me.

I slowly turned around to glare darkly at him, noticing that his body was hardly two inches away from my own, "Go the fuck away."

I turned to walk away from the disgusting snake man, but before I could go any farther than ten feet, I saw the damn Sasuke step out from behind a tree. Fuck. I was pissed. Oh well, there were two people for me to take it out on now. I cackled evilly on the inside and said, "Oh, hey Itachi! How're you?" I called out, "I just saw you! How'd you get here so fast?"

I was pinned up against a tree before I could blink, kunai to my throat, and a pair of enraged sharingan eyes staring down at me. "What do you know about my brother?" Sasuke hissed.

"Well, this is kinky." I said with a wink, avoiding the younger Uchiha's question. Oh dear. I needed more sleep. Hitting on minors was illegal. I 'tsked' my tongue at myself. I was almost as bad as Orochimaru. Oh well, who the fuck cared? I'm pissed, so now he is too. I am quite good at pushing buttons.

"Answer the question." He growled, pressing the kunai harder into my neck.

I laughed, "Fuck you, you stupid bastard."

I looked up at Sasuke, our eyes meeting. I felt my mind moving in and out of consciousness. I tried to look away from the Uchiha's ruby red eyes, but my body wouldn't listen to the directions my mind was giving it. _Look away!_ My mind screamed. I tried, but I couldn't. I giggled out loud. I was so stupid. '_Oh fuck'_ was my last thought before I fell into the darkness of unconsciousness. Oh well, at least I was getting the sleep I wanted now.

* * *

I blinked my eyes open, shutting them when I stared into a bright ball of flames. I was slightly dizzy, but I felt refreshed. How strange. What the fuck happened? I couldn't remember anything from before I fell asleep. The last thing I remembered was leaning against the tree in by the lake. I must have drifted off. How the hell did a fire get here? I felt someone lightly tugging on my hair and I swatted angrily at the person, my eyes still closed, but they swatted me back. I opened my eyes. My yellow orbs were met with golden snake eyes.

I raised my eyebrow and said, "Ew."

Orochimaru chuckled, "It's good to see you're awake. I'm sorry that Sasuke did that, he's rather sensitive when it comes to the subject of his brother."

"Oh really? I had no fucking idea." I said sarcastically as my body shuddered violently. I made a face and rubbed my arm, trying to get rid of the disgusting crawly feeling I had from Orochimaru touching my hair. I let my eyes glance around, taking in my surroundings. I seemed to be by the same lake as before. Then I realized my head was in Orochimaru's lap. My eye twitched and I shot up wards into a sitting position.

"Well, I should be on my way." I said as I went to stand up, but as soon as I was on my feet, my legs seemed to turn to mush and I landed on my ass. I turned to Orochimaru and glared darkly at him. Before I could open my mouth to yell at him, he spoke.

"The after effects of the sharingan can do that. It's best if you rest for tonight." Orochimaru said, smiling at me. The smile did not reach his eyes.

"How long was I out for?" I asked slowly.

"About four and a half days." Was his reply.

I huffed angrily, "I have places to fucking be."

He chuckled and said, "I'm sure that it can wait."

I glared again at the snake man and went to brush my bangs back in front of my eye. I paused and lifted a red strand in front of my face. It was braided. My eye twitched, "What the fuck!"

"What?" Orochimaru asked, eyes gleaming in the fire light.

"You braided my hair?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I snapped, taking out the braids that my hair was put into.

"Nothing. I just needed something to do, since Sasuke-kun was quite adamant about training by himself." Orochimaru said.

"Are you gay?" I asked, while still fighting with the braids in my hair. There were so many!

Orochimaru glared, "No. I am not gay."

"Are you a pedophile?" I questioned.

"No! What would make you think that!" Orochimaru asked, angry.

"Well, you hang around with a little boy all fucking day… so, you know, I just assumed…" I explained. The snake sannin glared darkly at me, sending shivers of fear down my spine. It was a feeling I did not like at all. Orochimaru continued to glare at me and stood up, walking away from me and into the trees. I rolled my eyes. I needed to find a way out of here. I tried to stand again, but I couldn't. My body was shaky. I bet the snake fucker poisoned me while I was sleeping or some shit like that. Oh well, I'll stay here until I'm able to walk again, then I will get my ass out of here. I reached for my kunai holder on my leg, only to find that it wasn't there.

"OH FUCK ME!" I screeched when I discovered that I had no weapons what so ever on me.

"Hn." I heard from behind me.

I swiveled my head around to stare at Uchiha, "Where's the snake rapist?"

Sasuke glared at me, "Hn."

"Well fuck you too, you damn fucking bastard." I snapped.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he walked and sat on the other side of the fire. He sat down cross-legged and made a steeple with his hands, resting his chin on it. He stared emotionlessly at me through the crackling flames. I raised my eyebrow at him in question.

"You mentioned my brother." He stated.

I nodded and then said, with mock seriousness, "That I did."

Either Sasuke was too stupid to notice my blatant mocking, or he chose to ignore me, so he continued, "What do you know of him?"

I blinked at him and then let out a low chuckle. It was time to see how good of a liar I was, "Nothing that the rest of the world doesn't already know. He killed the entire Uchiha clan, except you, became a member of Akatsuki, is completely evil, blah, blah, blah."

Sasuke stared at me, "Hn."

"What? You actually expected me to know where he was?" I clicked my tongue mockingly at him, "You're buttons are too easy to push when it comes to your brother."

Suddenly, a kunai went whizzing through the air, lightly cutting my cheek open and cutting off a few of the longer strands of my hair. I looked up at the younger Uchiha and raised an eyebrow, "What the fuck was that for?" I snapped.

He stared blankly at me, the firelight dancing in his obsidian eyes, "Hn."

"Is that all you ever fucking say?" I growled.

I wasn't graced with a response from the raven haired teen, which I was silently thankful for. In my current condition, there was no way I'd be able to even stand up to fight. This was ridiculously stupid. I glared heatedly at Sasuke while he stared blankly into the fire, blatantly ignoring me. I hated being ignored. I ran my hands through the cool grass, feeling for something, anything, which I could use to hurl at the apathetic Uchiha in front of me. I felt a small pebble and let a slow grin creep onto my face.

I picked up the pebble and launched it at the unsuspecting Uchiha. Just as the small, grey rock was about to hit Sasuke, he leaned slightly to his left, avoiding being hit. I frowned at him and he looked at me emotionlessly. We stared at each other in silence, until I picked up another small pebble slowly and deliberately. I flung it at the Uchiha again, but he caught it this time. "Stop." He commanded me.

I let a sarcastic smile creep onto my face and said a pleasant, "Fuck you."

His glare darkened and he said, "Do not speak to me like that."

I let my smile grow a little wider, "Why the fuck would I take orders from you, you little stuck up jackass?"

In a flash, I was on my stomach with my arms held painfully above my head and my face being ground into the dirt. Sasuke's knee was jammed into my back and I wasn't able to move. I tried to tilt my head to the side, but Sasuke grabbed my hair and rubbed my face farther into the dirt. "Because I have the power to end you." He hissed, his voice filled with venom.

I growled and shifted into a snake, slithering away as fast as I could. Sasuke seemed shocked and fell onto his knees.

The Uchiha looked around and saw me, sitting in my normal human form where he had been sitting previously. I was panting; tired from the amount of energy I had to put into shape shifting. My body felt like it was on fire and my vision was going in and out of focus. Suddenly, I started coughing violently. I slapped my hand over my mouth as my entire body shook. Pain ripped through my chest and travelled all the way down to the tips of my toes and all the way up to the top of my head. I had to force myself not to cry out in pain. I would not look that weak in front of the enemy. My eyes were clenched shut in pain and I felt a warm liquid drip from the small cracks in between my fingers. What the fuck did these jackasses do to me!

When the coughing fit receded, I fell over onto my side, breathing heavily with blood still seeping slowly out of my mouth. I was covered in the crimson liquid, but I felt so dead, so tired, that I didn't give a fuck. Sasuke was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, staring at me. To others, he probably looked emotionless, but because I had spent so much time with his older brother, I had come to read people much more easily that I was able to before. I could see the smallest glint of satisfaction in the younger Uchiha's eyes. I glared at him and spat out hoarsely, "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Hn." Was his only reply.

I clenched my fists and ground my teeth together in anger. As I was about to open my mouth to let out a snarky remark, Orochimaru walked out of the darkened forest with a sick smirk plastered on his sickly pale face. He looked at Sasuke fondly and then looked over at me, his eyes noticing the blood on the ground and the dried blood that was still covering my mouth and the front of my clothes. "Oh, Makita-chan, did you try and move after I told you not to exert yourself?"

"You didn't tell me not to move." I shot back blandly, "You told me to rest. There is a huge difference."

"Yes, I assume there is." The snake sannin said dryly.

"Why am I still here?" I asked as I let out a long huff of air. I was still lying down on my side. Truthfully, I was scared to move. I didn't want a repeat of my previous cough attack.

"I have some questions for you to answer…" Orochimaru hissed out at me, his long tongue slithering out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Why should I answer any of your questions?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You are in my care. I think that it is the least that you can do to repay me." He said.

I raised my other eyebrow, "That's really not much of an argument."

Orochimaru chuckled and sat down near the fire, far away enough from both Sasuke and I, but almost close enough to touch. "It is the polite thing to do."

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not fucking polite." I said sourly.

Orochimaru sent me a deathly glare, "Yes. I've noticed. I'm sure everyone has noticed"

I could hear the icy impatience in his tone, so I forced my weak body into a sitting position and turned my head to look at Orochimaru and said, "I'll answer your questions, but only if you answer mine."

Orochimaru put his finger to his chin, as if he was thinking, and turned to me, "You will answer all questions truthfully and honestly, and I shall do the same. If I find out you are lying, and believe me, I'll know, you will be punished. Understood?"

"Perfectly." I said, my voice dripping with distain.

"Now, Makita-chan, let's begin with the questions." The man said with a sickening smile.

I cringed internally and kept my face blank. The body knows when you lie. The heart beat accelerates and blood pressure spikes, breathing quickens, and the skin begins to sweat. For any well trained ninja, the minor differences in the body, especially heart beat and breathing, would be extremely easy to spot. I was going to have to try my best to lie my way out of this one. Orochimaru was a fucking strong opponent. In my current state, I wouldn't be able to do anything to fight against him, so I had to be convincing.

"Alright." I said.

"Makita-chan, tell me, what village are you from?" The snake sannin asked me.

"As I stated previously, I don't have a village." I said casually, making sure to stay calm and keep my face natural.

"Yes, but you must have had a village at one time, correct? You would not have the skills and abilities you have now if you did not come from a ninja village."

"What makes you think that?" I asked casually with a raised eyebrow.

"Your ability to shift into seemingly anything is not a normal thing a regular civilian would be able to do. Your abilities to fight and escape are well above someone with training from a normal, everyday non-ninja." He explained, his creepy, golden snake eyes watching my sharply.

Fuck. How was I going to get out of this? I knew that if I told Orochimaru I was originally from the Hidden Shape Shifter Village, it would lead to many unnecessary complications, but if I told him that the last village I lived in was Konoha, that would also fuck me over. The creepy snake man would probably want me to tell him all of the secrets I knew of the Hidden Leaf Village. So, basically, I was fucked over no matter what I said. Well, I hope I'm a good a liar as I thought I was.

"My father used to be a ninja. We lived in a small village in Fire Country and he trained me. My ability to shift into other things comes from his side of the family." I lied casually. That's what I had to do. Keep it short and sweet.

"I see. What's your last name?" He questioned.

Oh shit. I hadn't thought that far ahead. I decided to tell the truth, "Amaterasu"

"What-"

I cut Orochimaru off, "It is my turn to ask some questions."

He glared darkly at me and I just glared back at him, despite the tightly clenched ball of fear that sat in the pit of my stomach, "Did you drug me?"

A slick smirk slid its way onto Orochimaru's face, "I did."

My jaw clenched in anger and demanded, "Why!"

"We didn't want you waking up and taking off without us being able to be properly introduced. I wanted to ask you some questions as well. Not to mention the fact that I find you very… interesting." He said, as his tongue slithered out of his mouth and caressed the side of my face.

I scooted back, wiped my face, and snapped out, "Don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry my dear. Now please, let's continue on with the questions. It's my turn." He said.

"Fine." I muttered.

"I'm going to ask you one last time, what village are you from?" Orochimaru asked, his gaze turning steely.

I froze. He knew I was lying the entire time. "It's none of your business."

"Makita-chan, I've been very patient and tolerant with you since you've been in my company, but if you continue to blatantly lie to my face, things will get ugly." He said with a fake smile.

I bit back a retort and sent him the most scathing glare I could muster, and said quietly in a defeated tone, "The Hidden Village of Shape Shifters."

He reached out to pat my head and I jerked backwards away from him. I refused to let his slimy hands anywhere near me. "Good girl. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He said it like I was a child who he was congratulating. I did not appreciate it at all.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" I asked sarcastically.

"For now, yes. We shall continue the questioning in the morning. You need your rest. I assume what I drugged you with has taken a toll on you." The sannin said as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

My eye twitched when the disgusting snake mentioned drugging me, but I thought it would be wise to ignore that part. "Great." I muttered sarcastically.

"Sasuke, you will take first watch." Orochimaru ordered.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he stood up and walked away.

Sasuke had been sitting quietly, observing my and Orochimaru's conversation the entire time. He was so still and quiet I had almost forgot that he was here. I turned onto my side, facing the fire. How the hell was I going to get out of this mess?

* * *

_Back at the Akastuki hide out…_

"Where is she?" An angry Akatsuki leader demanded to the two holographic images of Itachi and Kisame.

"We let her go her own way about four, almost five, days ago," The monotonous voice the holographic Uchiha echoed around the cavernous room, "She said that she was coming here."

"Why is Maki-chan not here! Tobi misses Maki-chan!" The masked man shouted.

Kisame slapped his hand to his forehead and muttered something about how stupid Tobi was under his breath.

"Zetsu," Pein's loud voice called out and a large figure morphed out of the wall, "Do you know of her whereabouts?"

Before Zetsu could open his mouth and reply, Tobi bounced up next to the Leader of the Akatsuki, waving his arms around crazily while screaming, "TOBI DOES! TOBI KNOWS WHERE MAKI-CHAN IS!"

"How?" Pein snapped.

"Tobi put some tracking bugs in her bag!" Tobi giggled wildly, "He wanted to make sure Maki-chan didn't get lost!"

Pein looked at the holographic images that still stood in front of him, "You two are dismissed." And with a flash, the holographs were gone. "Tobi, tell Zetsu where she is. Zetsu, you will retrieve her. Use force if necessary."

"Maki-chan has been in the same place the entire time!" Tobi shouted.

"Find her." Pein ordered.

"Yes Leader." Zetsu said.

* * *

I had been awake since Orochimaru declared it was 'sleep time'. To say I was angry would be an understatement. Why the fuck was I so stupid? Sasuke and Orochimaru had already switched on guard duty and at the moment, Sasuke was leaning up against a tree, sleeping. At least, I assumed he was sleeping. I needed a way to get out of here. From what Orochimaru had said earlier, I highly doubted that whatever the fuck he drugged me with would not just 'wear off'. I hoped that there was an antidote somewhere. I rolled onto my back and looked up at the sky. This was so fucked up.

A vine suddenly wrapped itself around my throat and I was about to let out a scream, but the ground opened up beneath me and I was covered by a large, green, leafy thing. I could no longer feel the heat from the dying fire or see that stars that were once above me. I didn't know what the hell was going on, so I panicked. I began to struggle around and lash out at whatever was holding me, but the vines would not loosen up at all.

"Shhhh… it's just us… **shut up or we'll eat you.**" Two different voices said.

I relaxed slightly when I realized that it was Zetsu, but as soon as the moment of familiarity passed, my body stiffened and immediately became on guard. Zetsu was a cannibal and I had never been this close to him. I hoped he wouldn't eat me. I tried to shift in the bi-polar man's arms so I could look at him, but the vines around me just squeezed me tighter. So tight, that it was hard for me to breathe.

"Don't turn around… **we're really pissed we had to come and get you.**" The man snapped grumpily at me.

I glared at the darkness, "Weren't you watching me the entire time? Why the fuck didn't you help me earlier!"

"**We weren't watching you, you idiot. We have better things to do than chase around some immature brat**… but there were tracking bugs in your backpack. That's how we found you." He replied.

I paused, "Who the fuck put the tracking bugs in there?"

"Tobi!" The more pleasant side of Zetsu said.

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject, "Where the fuck are we?"

"**We're travelling underground. **We should be back at the main Akatsuki base in a few hours." The plant man replied.

"Joy." I mumbled sarcastically.

"Leader is very angry with you… **you're going to be in so much shit when we get back**." Zetsu informed me with a dark chuckle at the end.

"Why?" I asked.

"He thought you left Akatsuki." The white side answered.

"I was drugged and held hostage by Orochimaru and Sasuke!" I said angrily.

"We know that… **but he doesn't**." Zetsu said.

"Well he will when I get back." I shot back.

"**I don't know… he's pretty angry… and when Pein-sama is angry, he likes to 'beat now, ask question later'…**" The darker half of Zetsu said with a small laugh.

"I was drugged! Drugged! I couldn't do anything!" I shrieked.

"**That's your problem.**" The darker half laughed.

I opened my mouth to snap out a sharp comeback, but I was cut off by the plant man,

"Don't talk anymore… **or we really eat you.**"

Fuck. Now I had the next few hours of travelling in a fucked up way next to a hellish cannibal plant-man thing to worry about what was going to happen to me. Why did life have to be so fucked up?

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Review if you want. :)**


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